Just Put It On My Tab
by InViSiBiLiTy1
Summary: NJO, post RD JainaJag fic. The Yuuzhan Vong set their sights on the Chiss home world. UPDATED DECEMBER 10 Chapters 5,6 and 7!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

"Yun-Harla, that is the ugliest knot I have ever seen." 

Jaina Solo looked up from her work to glare at the roughly woman shaped shadow that sat before her. She was draped in a hooded cloak, too heavy for this time of year on Borleias. She held her head down, causing the sun to cast a shadow over her face. None of the woman's features were visible, even to Jaina, who sat mere meters away from her. "It's a knot. How pretty can it get?" She bit out. "Besides, priestesses aren't supposed to correct a Goddess. I thought you said you were a good actress." 

"I am an excellent actress. That still doesn't excuse your inability to create a simple _Terwri_ knot." The old woman moved a bit closer to Jaina, taking the strings from Jaina's hands. She carefully undid the last knot Jaina had made on it. "You're not doing a proper loop. The way you've been doing this, it's going to one disorganized mess of knots." 

"That'd be a shame." Jaina muttered under her breath. 

"What was that?" 

Jaina smiled sweetly at the woman. "Nothing, Amitia." 

"Jaina Solo, I would appreciate it if you at least showed some interest in this. After all, it was your idea." 

"And I would appreciate it if you would not address me as 'Jaina Solo'. We're supposed to be putting on a show, remember?" Jaina breathed a sigh and looked around. From her position on the rooftop, she could see mechanics and pilots working hard in the hot sun, tinkering with ships and droids. But more important than that, they were able to see her, lounging on the roof, doing nothing but making a pointless _Terwri_ necklace. 

"You know, where I come from, we don't treat our elders like that." 

"Amitia, you're from Corellia!" 

"That's right, and we don't treat our elders like that." She handed Jaina's strings back to her. "Now try again." 

Jaina rolled her eyes, but attempted the knot again. This time, it came out to Amitia's satisfaction. 

"Good. Now see if you can manage it again." 

Jaina bit back a snappy remark that would have angered the old woman, and instead concentrated back on the necklace she was attempting to make. _There's no use in fighting with her. After all, she is doing me a favor._ Amitia had came to Borleias on a refugee ship a few weeks ago, and during one of the routine briefings, Wedge Antilles had recognized her as Amitia Neklee, a famous Corellian actress from when Wedge was a young man. They recruited the woman, now in her seventies, to pose as Jaina's priestess. Sharr Latt, Wraith squadron member and local psychological warfare expert, had a field day when he found out. Jaina almost felt sorry for her, knowing that she had been subject to spending a day with Sharr, learning about the role she would have to play. Jaina attempted to start up a civilized conversation with the woman. "So, what's the story with this necklace anyway?" 

"'What's the story with this necklace?' I thought you were Corellian!" Amitia sounded shocked, but Jaina could sense nothing of the sort in her Force presence. 

"Only on my fathers side, and he's not much of a knot maker." 

"A _Terwri_ necklace was made by women for thousands of generations. It is not made much anymore, but I had to learn it for a holo-history I was making at the time. The producers thought is would be more realistic if I knew how to make them myself, so they sent me to this old mad man who - " Amitia stopped, catching Jaina's expression of boredom. "All right, long story short: If a woman wears the necklace, it shows that she is single, and looking for a mate. If it is worn by a male," Amitia smiled, a smile that Jaina could not see, but could feel through the Force, "it represents that he is taken, and that his woman is warning off all other females." 

Jaina looked down at her necklace, noticing for the first time that she had chosen to make it with several pieces of different green colored string. "Convenient." 

"Hmm... So I take it that a certain Colonel will be receiving this necklace once it's finished?" Amitia smiled, turning towards the mechanics working below them. She seemed to search for someone in the crowd. 

"Colonel? Why would I give this to Colonel Celchu? What are you implying?" Jaina retorted, trying to keep the blush from rising in her cheeks. She turned her eyes towards the necklace. 

Amitia let out a quick laugh. "Not the Colonel I was referring to, and you know it." 

Jaina let her voice drop to a growl. "You aren't supposed to know that." 

"I'm also not supposed to live long enough to see 3 different governments destroyed in this galaxy, but here we are." Amitia smiled sadly. "Now, tell me, how long have you and Colonel Fel been dating, and why is it a secret?" 

"A very strong 'no comment' to both, with an added 'You better keep it a secret' for the second one." Jaina answered, now even more engrossed in her necklace. _It's actually coming along nicely_. She shook her head at her own thought. 

"Ah. I take it has something to do with this Goddess business then." Amitia commented, bringing her own concentration to the necklace in her hands. "A shame. The sludgenews reporters would love it. If most of them weren't dead, that is." 

Jaina said nothing, keeping her attention focused on the _Terwri_ necklace. She hated the fact that she had to keep her relationship with Jag Fel a secret, and had wanted to beat Sharr Latt into a pulp when he told her of this, but had been forced to accept it. By Jag's own words, he was an unknown quantity to the Yuuzhan Vong, and if she were to play her part as a Goddess, it wouldn't do to be associated with a simple pilot. Jaina sighed for the second time in minutes. _At least Jag doesn't seem to mind. Much_. 

A few minutes later, with her attention finally focused on her work, she had produced a decent _Terwri_ necklace. She handed it to Amitia for inspection. 

"Not bad, Great One, not bad at all. Much better than my first attempt, which speaks volumes for my teaching ability. I have to say, I am very pleased with myself." 

"Well, it's not like I had anything to do with making it." Jaina muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. _This woman could be a fighter-pilot, for all her ego!_

"What did I tell you about respect for your elders?" the old Corellian woman admonished her. 

"And what did I tell you about lecturing a Goddess?" Jaina retaliated. She brought up her wrist to check her chrono. "I'm sorry, Amitia, but it seems our time here is at an end. I have a previous engagement." 

"A date?" 

_Yes, a date with the refresher, and then my bed. I only get an hour of free time a day, and I need it to relax._ "I wish." She replied instead. She bent down to pick up the blankets she and Amitia had been sitting on, but the woman's cough stopped her. Jaina straightened and looked at Amitia, finally able to see her face from her new position. "What?" 

"There's a reason I'm here, Goddess." Amitia put emphasis on the last word, and Jaina caught her meaning. _A goddess does not work._

With a nod, and a quick look of apology, Jaina turned and walked away, leaving the old woman to deal with the clean up. She wondered if this was how her mother had acted on Alderaan, always depending on other people. She shook those thoughts away as she walked back inside from the roof. _My mother may have been a princess at one time, but she has suffered more, and contributed more to this galaxy than anyone I have ever met._

Jaina walked back to her quarters on the top floor of an old military building. These rooms were reserved for high-ranking military and government officials, and their families, and were multiple room suites with elaborate decorations. Jaina had been given the smallest room on the floor, by her request. She knew that no one would notice the size of her room; all they would care about was that she was on the top floor. Above them. As a goddess should be. 

She reached her room, and began to enter the access code, when she noticed the red light indicating the room was locked wasn't on. _I _know_ I locked this._ Fingering her ever-present lightsaber, she stretched out with the Force into her room, and felt a familiar presence. Without further thought, she punched the door open and walked through. 

He sat there, leaning back in a chair with his feet propped up on a table, a look of concentration on his face, staring at an orange colored datapad. He looked up as Jaina entered and smiled, placing the datapad on the tabletop and stood up. Jaina took a moment to take in his appearance. He was in standard off-duty military dress; loose pants and jacket, with a long sleeved shirt beneath the jacket. Jaina's clothes matched his in that sense, but while hers were orange and white, his were a matte black. The only exception was the gray symbol on his jacket - the Imperial patch._ Not many people can make an Imperial uniform look good, but Jag Fel does it nicely._ Jaina smiled back at him. _Then again, if Jag wore a dress with Peace Brigade slogans spray painted all over it, he'd still make it look good._ Jag's hair matched his uniform, except for a streak of white hair that ran along a scar that started at his right eyebrow; the patch and the white hair provided the only contrast to the rest of his outfit. She walked over to him and took hold of his jacket. She gently pulled him down closer to her, and gave him a soft kiss. A moment later, she felt his arms slide across her back, pulling her even closer to him. After a long moment, Jaina sensed something go off in his mind, and reluctantly pulled away. She looked up into his pale green eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?" 

Colonel Jagged Fel smiled down at her. "What, I can't come and see you once in a while?" 

"You could, and I would like that very much, but you have yet to do it." Jaina replied, easing out of his arms. "I can feel something's going on, so I ask again: What's up?" 

Jag ran a hand through his hair, messing it up further. Jaina noticed for the first time that it was still wet. "Later. I don't want to talk about it now." 

"Okay, sure. Let's talk about this, then. Why are you in my room, with my refresher full of steam, and your hair wet?" 

Jag looked back and forth between the refresher, Jaina, and the door. Seeing his gaze linger on the door, Jaina sidestepped and put herself in his path. She smiled innocently. Jag shook his head, and smiled back at her. "Wes Janson arrived in system a few hours ago. General Antilles warned me ahead of time to keep away from him for my own good. Considering it's bad enough I have to share the public refreshers with the Wraiths and Rogues, which have a combined mental age of 10, I figured adding Wes Janson to the mix probably wasn't a good idea, so - " He gestured to the refresher. "I didn't think you'd mind." 

"I don't. I just wanted to know." Jaina worked hard at not bursting out laughing. Being in Rogue squadron, she had been subject to many practical jokes, and had heard many stories about Wes and Wraith squadron. "Is Wes back with the military?" 

"Seems so. He came in on a Mol Cal cruiser, and Kyp and I were scrambled for escort duty while you were playing Goddess." Jag let a small smile come to his lips. "My uncle introduced us as soon as Wes stepped off the landing ramp. Nice guy. Likes Ewoks. Told me I need to smile more. Gave me his datapad." Jag pointed to the table where the bright orange datapad he was working on lay. 

Jaina walked over and picked it up, this time not able to contain her laughter. "Ewok Adventures, Second Edition'? You were playing games?" 

Jag nodded, and smiled sheepishly. "I can't get past level 5. I just can't destroy that blasted shield generator!" 

"Wait 'til you get to the next level. You're going to have to make a run on the Death Star." 

"As an Ewok? You're kidding." Jag made a face. "It's not going to be in an X-Wing, is it?" 

"Hey, watch it." Jaina sat the datapad down. "I happen to like X-Wings." 

"That's only because you've never flown my ship." 

"And _that's_ only because you've never let me!" Jaina shot back at him. "You don't let anyone come near that ugly version of a TIE fighter." 

Jag opened and closed his mouth several times before he finally seemed to be able to control his thoughts. He frowned at Jaina. "You're provoking me again." 

"And it's fun." Jaina smiled. "You should try it sometime." 

"I'll keep that in mind." Jag replied dryly. "So, while I was actually working, what have you been up to the whole day?" 

Jaina reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the _Terwri_ necklace she had finished earlier. "Making you a present." 

Jag took two steps to stand directly in front of Jaina, and took the necklace in his hands. He studied it for a few seconds, before looking up and raising an eyebrow to Jaina. "Green?" 

Jaina shrugged. "I like it. Plus, it matches your eyes." 

Jag nodded and gave the necklace back to Jaina, indicating with his hands for her to tie it around his neck. "Did your new handmaiden teach you how to make this?" 

Jaina reached up behind his neck, and started working to tie a knot. She nodded in response. "Apparently, according to Old Corellian customs, a man who wears it is taken, so it warns off other women." Jaina finished tying the knot, but left her arms to rest around Jag's neck. She looked up, and saw an amused smile on his face. "You got a problem with that?" 

"Not at all." Jaina felt his arms slide around her waist. He pulled her closer and kissed her, making it last longer than their last kiss. Again, Jaina pulled away first. 

"Jag, what's going on?" She could feel something was wrong, and sensed that he was reluctant to tell her. 

He released her and ran his hand through his hair again. Jaina could see in his face that he was weighing his words, not sure how to say something. Finally, he just let it out. "I have to leave. Tomorrow." 

Jaina just stared at him, in shock, not bothering to hide her feelings. "What?" 

"I'll be back, in a week or so." He added hastily. "Janson arrived with a message for me from my father. He had been in contact with Pallaeon, who in turn passed on the message to Admiral Kre'fey, who gave it to Janson when they finally learned of my location." 

Jaina said nothing for a few moments. _He can't leave. He can't. He told me he wouldn't. He said he didn't want to._ Jaina blinked once, slowly, and tried to calm herself down. _He'll be back._ Finally sure that her voice would be under control, she asked, "What did the message say?" 

Jag sighed. "Shawnkyr and I haven't been diligent in filing our reports. The Holonet hasn't exactly been functional, and we've been busy with everything..." He trailed off, looking a little self-conscious. "It's also... It's also somewhat of a Chiss holiday this week. The academies will be closed, and the military on leave..." 

Jaina closed her eyes, seeing where Jag was going with this. "And your family together at home." 

Jag smiled sadly. "My brother and sister go to different boarding academies, and my father is always away on military business. My family hasn't seen each other like this since..." He trailed off again, and Jaina got the distinct impression that she shouldn't push him for answers. 

"What time do you leave?" She managed to say. 

"19:00 tomorrow." 

They stood in silence for a few long minutes, neither sure of what to say. Jaina folded her arms across her stomach, and looked at the ground. _Why am I so upset over this? He's coming back, for sith's sake!_ Jaina shook her head, unable to comprehend her own thoughts. 

"You're angry." Jag's voice brought her out of her thoughts. 

"No, I--, "Jaina let out a long sigh, and looked Jag in the eye. "I am. I shouldn't be, but I am." 

Jag smiled at her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone." 

"You better be." 

* * *

"What I would like to know, Leia, is why my daughter is not in her room at this hour of the night." Han Solo stalked down the corridor, opening every unlocked door and peering in to find his daughter. His wife trailed a few steps behind him. 

"Han, it's late. We'll talk to Jaina tomorrow." 

"No way. I'm angry now. I still haven't given her a good yelling at for that stunt she pulled before we left for the Maw. It's always 'Can't talk now Dad, I have sims' or 'Sorry Dad, Kyp wants to train right now'. Well, no more! I want to know exactly what she thought she was doing." 

"Han, I think there were extenuating circumstances on that one." 

Han stopped short, and twirled around to face his wife, a suspicious look on his face. "It's that Fel boy, isn't it? There's something going on there. Do you know something I don't?" 

Leia Organa Solo sighed and rolled her eyes. "You mean that Fel boy who saved you from a severe beating a few weeks ago?" 

"That's the one." Han narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me you approve?" 

"Han, we don't even know if there's anything to approve of." 

Han looked at her for a moment, before returning to his search for Jaina. "We'll see about that." He told her over his shoulder. Han keyed another door open, and muffled a curse as an old-styled sweeping broom fell out and hit him on the head. He shoved it back in and closed the door, messaging the place the broom had hit him. He led the way to the turbolift, ready to try another floor. 

Leia followed him. "I think you're over-reacting." 

Han turned to face her, disbelief evident on his face. "You think I'm over-reacting? Our daughter is out at all hours of the night, possibly with the son of an Imperial Baron, and her comlink is turned off!" His voice turned to sarcasm. "What could possibly go wrong there?" 

"Would you feel better if she was out at all hours of the night in an asteroid field with a smuggler and a wookie?" 

Han opened his mouth to answer, but stopped to rethink his words. He scowled at Leia. "What is that supposed to mean?" 

Leia smiled easily, sensing victory. "It's supposed to mean that she's an adult being, and that we should trust her to make her own decisions." 

"Legal age is 21." 

"What?" 

"Legal age is 21 on Borleias." Han smiled as he punched the door open, and walked out of the turbolift on the pilots floor. "Which means that as long as we're on Borleias, I get to yell at her." 

Leia sighed, but said nothing. She understood Han's sudden over-protectiveness. Jaina was their only daughter, and now, due to the fortunes of war, possibly their only child left. _No. Jacen is alive._ Jacen, their oldest son and Jaina's twin was currently missing, presumed dead at the hands of his Yuuzhan Vong captors, and Anakin... 

It still hurt to think about Anakin. 

"Aha. Here we go." Han's voice cut through Leia's thoughts, and she was thankful for the distraction. "Pilots Lounge" read above the door, and looked like it had been hastily welded into the door by one of the pilots. Han turned a smile on her. 

Leia shook her head and gestured for him to open the door. 

The lounge was a small room that had served as a workout room before the Yuuzhan Vong occupation on Borleias, judging from the hard, uncarpeted floors and the mirrors on one side of the room. But that was all that remained of the old gym; the machines were destroyed by the technology hating Vong, and the New Republic pilots had brought in extra couches, tables, sabbac decks, and other forms of entertainment. Currently, a holo movie Leia had never seen before was playing, but the volume was turned down so not to disturb other pilots who might be sleeping near the lounge. 

_Or in the lounge, in this case._

"Nothing going on, huh, Leia?" Han growled, staring at the two figures seated on the couch. Leia allowed a small smirk to cross her face. There, half-sitting on the couch was their daughter, sound asleep and leaning on Jag Fel's shoulder for support. Jag's own head was rested on top of hers, and he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Of all the people in the galaxy, Jaina, you have to choose a Fel." 

"Well, dear, he's also an Antilles, if that makes you feel better." 

"You know, for some strange reason, it doesn't." Ham smiled bitterly at Leia. He took a step closer to the table situated in front of the couch, and gave it a nice, loud kick. The noise, combined with the pain from the impact of the table hitting their shins was enough to cause the two sleeping forms to jump up. Leia noticed, with mixed feelings of admiration and dismay, that both her daughter and Jag had weapons drawn before they were fully awake. Jag was already holstering his charric, but Jaina's lightsaber remained pointed at Han's throat. _If she had ignited it..._

Jaina appeared to be thinking along the same lines. "Dad! I could've beheaded you! What in the name of the sith are you doing?" 

"I was going to ask you - Jaina, you can put the lightsaber down, now - I was going to ask you the same thing." Han growled, his eyes shifting between Jaina and Jag. 

Jaina complied with her fathers request, and placed the lightsaber back on her belt. "I was sleeping." She answered simply. 

"Yeah, I noticed that." Han waited for Jaina to continue. She didn't. Leia could tell from Jaina's sense in the Force that Jaina was just itching for a good argument, especially when she was right. She also noticed Jag growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. _This is probably the first time Jag has been uncomfortable in any situation!_ Leia noted to herself with amusement. 

Jag cleared his throat. "Sir, maybe this isn't the best time to have this conversation. It's getting late." 

"Quiet, Fel. Nobody asked you." Han fixed Jaina with a challenging glare. "I want to know what happened." 

Jaina raised an eyebrow in response. "We were watching a holo, and we fell asleep. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence." 

"'Not an uncommon occurrence?'" Han threw up his hands in the air. "Jaina, I thought you had better sense than that!" 

"Dad!" 

"Han!" 

"Ouch." Jaina and Jag exchanged quick glances, and both smiled. Leia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. At least Jag wasn't taking Han's insults personally. _Yet._

"Colonel Fel is right. Now is not the time to be having this conversation. We'll continue this conversation tomorrow morning over breakfast. We're all tired, and are saying things we don't mean." Han mumbled something under his breath, but the rooms other occupants chose to ignore him. 

Jag nodded at Leia, and bowed slightly. He turned to Jaina, "I'll walk you to your quarters." 

"Oh, in blazes you will! _I'll_ walk her to her quarters." Han interjected himself between Jaina and Jag. He shot Jag a glare. 

"Dad!" 

"Stop 'Dad'-ing me. He's getting off pretty easy, considering what I had to go through when I met Leia's father. Tortured for days! Frozen in carbonite for months!" Han sneered. He led Jaina down the corridor towards the turbolift doors, his voice dropping in volume. "All he has to put up with is a couple of insults." 

* * *

Departure time had come all too quickly for Jag. He had hoped to see Jaina before he departed for the Unknown Regions, but duties had kept them both away. _And continue to do so._ Jag had hoped Jaina would make the trip to see him off, but he knew that would be impossible; she needed to maintain her goddess image. That still didn't help with the sting he felt. _Just because I understand it doesn't make it better._

He shook the thoughts away for the moment; there would be enough time on the daylong hyperspace trip to contemplate his relationship with Jaina. He grabbed the last of his belongings and showed them in the cockpit compartment. He glanced over at Shawnkyr Nuruodo, his wing pilot and second-in-command. Since he has been flying with Twins Suns squadron under Jaina's command, Shawnkyr has been leading Jag's Hapes squadron. She was now giving last minute details to one of the pilots. They parted ways, and Shawnkyr made way to her own clawcraft, nodding to Jag on the way. 

He was about to jump into his ship as well, when he caught sight of a figure entering the hangar area. Shorter than he was, the figure was shrouded in a dark cloak that appeared to be living from a distance. Jag recognized it immediately. 

"Amitia." He nodded when the woman had stepped close enough. 

"Colonel Fel." She extended her hand, and Jag hesitated for a moment before shaking it. Only when he let go after a second did he realize that there was a small weight on his wrist now. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, and saw a small package attached to it. He tried to ignore it. 

"The Great One sends word that she wishes you a safe journey, and she hopes you return to your rightful place under her command soon." Amitia kept her voice at an even level, neither whispering nor shouting, so that her statements would not seem suspicious. 

Jag nodded. "Tell the goddess I shall be back in her service soon enough." 

"I will relay the message." Amitia bowed slightly, and turned on her heel. Jag watched her retreat before turning around and jumping into his cockpit. He noticed Shawnkyr had been watching him, and wondered how much of that conversation she heard. _Or how much she deciphered, for that matter._

They got their clearance as soon as they powered up their systems, and rose in a simple two-fighter formation. "Co-ordinates?" Shawnkyr asked as soon as they had left the atmosphere. 

Jag relayed them to her. 

"These take us straight to the Hapes cluster." Jag heard Shawnkyr comment, but her voice was devoid of any emotion. What she thought of their course remained hidden. 

"I know." Jag answered. "I want to make a pass through there to check out the situation, and whether it has gotten worse. Also, it would do good not to go straight back to Nirauan. We don't know what kind of tracking devices the Vong have, and I don't want to lead them home." 

"Understood." Shawnkyr answered. They flew in silence for a few moments, as they passed various ships in the planets orbit. Jag could make out the bow of the Super-Star Destroyer Lusankya as it orbited the planet. Jag took this time to unravel the package Jaina had sent to him. He pulled out a datacard that looked vaguely familiar, with a piece of folded up flimsy tied around it. He opened it up, and read the message written there. _Wouldn't want you to be bored on your long trip. Love, Jaina._

Love, Jaina. 

_Love_, Jaina. 

Deciding that he would have enough time to ponder this new development in hyperspace, he slipped the datacard into his ships main computer. One of the screens blinked for a second, and then a familiar music filled his cockpit. "The Ewok game..." 

"Sir?" Shanwkyr's voice overrode the music for a second, and Jag took the time to pop the datacard out of his computer. The screen came back to its regular mode, and Jag noticed that they had cleared the planets gravitational pull, and were able to make the jump to hyperspace. 

"Yes, major?" 

"I take it your taste in music has changed in the time spent with the Reps?" 

Jag's lip twitched slightly, but he chose to ignore the question. "10 seconds to jump." 

"Copy. Oh, and sir?" 

"Yes?" 

"Nice necklace." 

* * *

Han found his daughter in a small corridor overlooking the kill zone. _Or, what had once been the kill zone. Now, most of the area looks about the same._ The high transpirasteel windows gave onlookers a perfect view of all the ships and vessels situated there. Jaina was leaning against the railing, staring at something down there. She only glanced at Han out of the corner of her eye to confirm it was him. He walked up to her and rested against the railing himself. "What are you so interested in." 

Jaina didn't offer a verbal answer; instead, she just gestured out the viewport with her head. Han noticed two ships rise up and hover for a second, before starting their climb into the sky. He recognized them as the Chiss clawcraft. "Fel's on one of those?" 

Jaina nodded. 

"Where does he think he's going?" 

"Home." Jaina answered, her voice a little bit shaky. 

"I didn't think I scared him that much." 

Jaina laughed for a second. "Military business. He said he'll be back." 

"He better be. I would hate to have to go all the way to the Unknown Regions to kick his butt." Han said, trying to make Jaina cheer up again. She only offered him a sad smile. 

Han sighed and put an arm around Jaina, pulling her closer. "You know, you can do better." 

Jaina looked up at him, the same sad smile still in place, but this time accompanied by a single tear. "There's no such thing." 

Han could only smile back. "If you say so." They stood there until the Chiss ships left their line of sight. "Come on, let's go to the sim room. I want to see if you're better than me yet." 

"I've been better than you since I was 14, Dad." 

"That's what you like to think. I'd like to see you prove it." 

Jaina wiped the tear away from her cheek, and pulled away from her father. "I'd love to, Dad, really, but I have a lesson scheduled with Kyp now." 

"Well, Kyp will just have to deal with it. Come on!" Han started down the corridor toward the turbolift doors. Jaina lingered by the window still, apparently unsure what to do. Han turned and frowned at her. "Hey, don't you listen to your father anymore? Let's go!" 

Jaina rolled her eyes, but followed her father. "So, who else is going to be in this sim?" 

"Huh? What do you mean?" 

"You said you're going to beat me." Jaina smiled, and Han could see a hint of humor in her eyes. "You and what army?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Borleias was a hot, humid planet, comfortable for human life. Since his time there, which had only been a few weeks, Jag's skin had caught a nice tan, something that was rare among most snub pilots; most of their time was spent in their ships or in simulators. However, most of the New Republic's mechanics weren't familiar with his ship's schematics, and Jag wanted to keep it that way. As he looked onto the almost frozen surface of Nirauan, and involuntarily shivered. 

They followed the beacons in to the local military base, and were allowed to land once they gave all the proper codes. The base was in the middle of a severe snowstorm at the moment, but Jag and Shawnkyr had spent many years on this particular base, and managed to land without difficulties. As suspected, no one was waiting outside on the docking bay. Shawnkyr and Jag fought their way inside through the strong winds. The huge hangar doors opened and allowed them to enter. It took a moment for Jag to shake the show out of his eyelashes, but when he was finally able to see clearly, he noticed six Chiss saluting him. Shawnkyr had already returned the salute by the time Jag noticed it. 

"Colonel Fel. Welcome back to Base 5A2 of the Expansionary Defense Fleet." A tall Chiss Jag didn't recognize spoke. He gestured to the new arrivals to follow them. "I trust your scouting trip has been successful." 

"We have learned much about the enemy." Jag replied neutrally. He and Shawnkyr fell into step with the leader. 

"Yes, we hope to learn much from your report." The man spoke. He turned to face Shawnkyr, who was on his left side. "House Nuroudo wishes to speak with you as soon as possible. We have communications to Csilla set up on floors 3 and 4, if you wish to speak with them now." 

Shawnkyr snapped off a quick salute, and left for the turbolift. 

"General Fel has requested your presence in his office immediately, Colonel. He is very eager to hear your report on your findings." Jag merely nodded in return. _And grill me for not reporting back sooner._

The honor guard left him in the General's waiting room, which was surprisingly devoid of any droids or assistants. A minute later, the door his fathers office opened, and Jag rose to his feet and saluted. General Baron Soontir Fel looked exactly the same as he had when Jag had last seen him, except worry was now replaced with relief in his one eye. 

"Welcome back, Colonel. I have to congratulate you on your tactics in the defense of Hapes. Our agents brought back as much information from that battle as possible." His father smiled at him, and gestured for him to follow into the office. 

"Thank you sir, although I hardly feel I contributed all that much to the overall situation on Hapes." Jag took a seat in front of his father's desk. "The Hapan navy was quite large to begin with, and tactics employed by the Jedi were very effective." 

"Yes, that was very interesting, what they did with the enemy ships." His father mused, relaxing in his chair. "But I assume this will all be in your report. I'm afraid we won't have much time to discuss this now. The last transport leaves in two hours, and there are some last minute security details I have to deal with." 

"We're taking a transport?" Jag frowned. In the past, the ruling houses on the Chiss home planet of Csilla didn't allow for Thrawn's forces to bring weapons and army ships into Csillian space, but with the war on, Jag had thought those laws would be changed. Apparently, he was wrong. 

His father made a face of disgust. "The law still stands. The ruling families are considering what to do to help the war effort, and have sent some forces to assist, but they still don't sanction us. We are still forbidden to come as anything but civilians. 

Jag shook this head. "And in case of an attack? We're better trained then the Csillian navy, and we have more combat experience--" 

Jag's father held up a hand to silence him. "Would you like me to set up a meeting with the ruling houses for you?" Soontir asked dryly. 

"No, sir." Jag murmured, sulking in his chair. 

"Good, because I've already had enough of them," Soontir said. "Gather your belongings from your ship and have them transferred to the cruiser." 

"Yes, sir," Jag regarded his father. "And Luna and Tarion are on their way?" 

"Your brother and sister have been home for a few days now, according to your mother's last communication." His father said. "I could tell by how tired your mother looked." 

Jag couldn't help but laugh. 

* * *

Jag's home had stayed exactly how he remembered it. He found himself surrounded by memories from his childhood spent in this house. He hadn't seen the house in a few years, for the last time he had been at home was after his sister Cherith's funeral. That was also the last time his whole surviving family had been together. Jag didn't want to think about those times right now, but he found it impossible as he piloted his father's speeder to their home. 

The house was a light red in color, with a small garden of Csillian flowers around it like a colorful moat. The house was considered modern by Chiss standards when his father and mother had received it from the government, but over the years, the various droids and devices had been disabled by his mother, who found time to perform those duties herself. Jag was so immersed in his thoughts that he almost missed the turn into his house's parking pad. 

"Good to know the Republic has been keeping your flying skills up to their top capability." His father remarked dryly as he popped open the door and stepped out of the speeder. 

Jag smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sir. I was distracted." 

"You mean right now, or during your time with the Reps?" His fathers one eye narrowed. "Someone out there distracting you?" 

"Of course not." Jag smiled, grabbing their belongings out of the back of the speeder. "The Rep pilots are all very mature and dedicated to their training. Especially the Rogues." 

"Well, now I know you're lying." Soontir laughed. He took a suitcase from his son, and they made their way to the front door. Soontir punched in the proper access code, and the door opened with a _shwoosh_. 

"Tarion? Is that you? You better not have put a scratch on that speeder, or your father will tear you apart." Jag heard his mothers voice coming from the small kitchen. They moved down the corridor and stepped through the opening. Syal Fel stood with her back to them, arranging various dishes on the long table. 

"You let Tarion take my speeder?" Soontir spoke, and Jag watched as his mother jumped slightly, before recognizing her husbands voice. 

"Soontir..." She turned around, and almost dropped a plate she was holding. "Jagged!" She threw the plate onto the table and ran to embrace Jag. "Your father didn't tell me you were coming." She let go of Jag and hugged his father, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Although, I must admit, the surprise is a welcome one." 

"I wasn't sure if I would make it on time, so I didn't want to make any promises I couldn't keep." Jag explained, taking a seat at the table and helping himself to a piece of fruit that had been set up there. "Where are Luna and Tarion, anyway?" 

His mother rolled her eyes. "They were bickering too much, so I sent them on an errand to get me some materiel I will need for tonight." 

"Bickering? The last time I saw them, they seemed to get along." Jag commented. 

"That was two years ago, Jag." His father said, taking a seat opposite Jag. "They both grew up, and apart. Davin's death had been bad, but Cherith was younger then Davin, and closer to them. They both have different idea's about how they should live their lives." 

"When your sister left the academy for the school of Mathematical Sciences, your brother could not comprehend it. They have been at odds with each other ever since." His mother put in. "Luna has been difficult lately. She seems to be picking fights with Tarion more often, and her school grades haven't exactly been excellent." 

Jag was silent as he took all this in. His youngest sister, as he remembered her, had been as passionate about joining the military as any of his other siblings, and when he found out that she had left the academy to study sciences, he was more than surprised. It took him a while to recognize the possibility that with Davin and Cherith's deaths, Luna had been turned off from the glory of battle. Tarion, Luna's senior by one year, had stepped up to the challenge, determined to fight with the military and follow in his father's footsteps. 

The sound of the door opening drew Jag's attention to the corridor, and he heard two distinctive voices. 

"Give it a rest, Luna. You know what you're saying doesn't make any sense." 

"It makes plenty of sense, but you're just too stupid to comprehend it." Jag heard his sisters voice as she snapped off a comeback. "Though I can't say I'm surprised, with the kind of education you must be receiving at the academy." 

"I swear, Luna, you read one book written by a political idealist and now you suddenly know everything on the subject. Must be great being as brilliant as you." Tarion's sarcastic voice seemed closer, and a second later he appeared in the kitchen, holding up a set of keys. "Here, Mom --" He cut off as he caught sight of his father and older brother. Jag smiled slightly as he stood up to take a better look at his brother. He was about the same height and build as Jag, having already gone through the major adolescent growth spurts. His hair was cut military-short, and his face was like a younger version of their father. His brother smiled broadly and hugged his brother. "Jagged! It's been a while!" 

"What? Jagged has decided to bless us with his presence?" Jag let go of his brother to take a look at his sister, who had stepped in the kitchen. She also took more after their father in their facial features, but she was built the same as her mother. She had a smile on her face. 

Jag rolled his eyes at her, and drew her into a hug. "Give me a break, huh? I've been busy." 

"Yeah, sure." Luna drew away from him and went to her father to greet him. 

Tarion walked up next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Ah, don't worry about her. That's as nice as she gets. Come on, let's go for a ride." 

"Tarion, I just got here." 

"Yeah, and there's not much to see." Tarion said, gesturing around the room. "Let's go to the _Giavix_. I want to see how I fare against the famous Jagged Fel." 

"Fairly low, just like everyone else." Jag replied easily. Tarion was now 17 years old, and a full-fledged fighter pilot, complete with the ego. _And I've dealt with my fair share of those._

"Hey, just because you've been able to beat the Rogues and company in Rep space doesn't mean anything here." Tarion countered. 

"Hey, it's your suicide." Jag smiled, heading for the door. He kissed his mothers cheek on the way. "Maybe we should invite Luna along." 

"Oh no, I'm not putting up with her again." 

Jag heard his sisters voice coming from another room. "I don't want to go anyway, jerk." 

Tarion snapped off a comeback, but Jag ignored his siblings. He turned to his mother. "Dinner still at 19:00?" 

"Of course. Pick up some lunch on the way, if you're not going to stay here." 

"As ordered." Tarion snapped off a quick salute to his mother, then ran for the door. "I'm driving." 

* * *

"You've gotten better." 

"Yeah. Now it only takes you about 3 minutes to kill me." Tarion said sourly, taking a sip of his drink. "I really didn't think I was that bad." 

"You're not bad at all. I'm just brilliant." Jag smiled. He took a bite of his sandwich, a local Chiss food that he hadn't realized he missed so much. _Then again, when you eat those New Rep rations, anything tastes great._ "Dad told me you're a lieutenant now in Krystak's Svoja squadron." 

"Yeah, I guess that's not bad, considering I'm still in the academy." Tarion answered. "Of course, by the time you were 17, you were already a Colonel." 

"We're not in competition, Tarion." Jag reprimanded his brother, frowning at him. "We're not in competition with our own. Never." 

"I know that Jagged, but it's hard not to." Tarion looked down at his plate. 

"Tarion, you are a lieutenant in a superior squadron. It's not something to be looked down upon." Jag nodded a thanks as a Chiss waitress brought them their receipt for their food. He pulled out a few credits, and was somewhat surprised to find that they were mostly New Republic currency. 

Tarion noticed it too. "You probably should have gotten those exchanged. They're not much good here." He smiled as he pulled out a few Csillian credit chips. "This one's on the Baron, anyway." At Jag's questioning look, he added, "I found some extra cred's in the speeder." 

"Ah. Should've figured you had no money." 

"Of course I don't have any money. That's why I'm in the military." 

Jag laughed, and took another bite of his sandwich. "You've changed so much since the last time I've seen you. You're much more --" 

"Human?" Tarion suggested. "Corellian?" 

"Exactly." 

"You, on the other hand, could still be a poster boy for the Chiss." Tarion commented, reaching across the table to take a bite out of Jag's food. "Has your time with the Reps taught you nothing?" 

Jag smiled in return. "You'd be surprised." Jag grabbed a napkin and wrapped it around his half-eaten sandwich. "Come on, let's get out of here. Is there any place around here to go?" 

"I don't know. I haven't been around here for a while. Let's just walk." 

They left the diner and started walking down the narrow streets, passing by various Chiss who they had known in their childhood, offering wishes of happiness in the holiday season. Even though the Chiss were known for their cool demeanor and grim outlook, the only exception was the weeklong Holiday season. Although the general attitudes were still on the wrong side of serious, those who had spent their entire lives living on Csilla could see the difference as clear as night and day. 

Jag finished his sandwich, and threw out the napkin in a nearby garbage chute as they passed it. "Speaking of changes, what happened to Luna?" 

Tarion didn't answer for a long moment, apparently unsure of what to say. "I think Cherith's death hit her pretty hard, and scared her away from flying and military service." 

"That's perfectly acceptable." Jag commented. "However, it doesn't explain her behavior towards you, from what I hear." 

"I think it's all related. I think she feels betrayed by us for going into the military, and setting ourselves up for death." Tarion suggested. "That's my guess." 

"Interesting theory. Also explains why she has been lecturing you." Jag commented. "Probably trying to convince you to resign and quit the academy." 

"That's my thought, too." Tarion agreed. "I'm still hoping it's a teenage rebellion, and nothing more." 

Jag nodded his head, taking this in. Tarion was probably right, and one of the things he did learn from his time in the Republic was that human teenagers were unpredictable, moody. _Especially female ones._ He smiled to himself, remembering the note Jaina had left him. At least he had no cause to complain in that aspect of his life. 

Luna was another matter, entirely. When he had last spent time with his family, his brother and sister reminded him so much of himself at their age. Apparently, in his absence, his two younger siblings had grown into something entirely different. While Jag and Cherith followed in Davin's footsteps and grew up into something resembling Chiss greatly, his youngest brother and sister had apparently taken on more human characteristics. Luna reminded him greatly of the Jaina Solo he had spent time with on Hapes; both were moody, depressed, and rebelling against something no one else could see. Tarion, on the other hand, could try out to join the humor-addicted Wraith Squadron if he received some intelligence training. 

"We should head back." Jag spoke at last. The he smiled mischievously at his brother. "Here's a little one I learned from the Reps: Last one to the speeder has to clean up after dinner." Jag broke into a dead run, and heard Tarion's footsteps a few meters behind him. Jag couldn't help but smile as he dodged pedestrians. 

* * *

"...So then all this turbolaser fire started pouring down all around us, killing all the Vong soldiers. It was... amazing. I've never actually seen what the star destroyers were built to do, and I have to admit, I wouldn't want to be on the other side of that barrage." 

"That's why we joined the Empire, son." Jag smiled at his fathers comment. He had been retelling the story of the Vong defeat at Borleias. 

Jag glanced at his mother. "I have to say that I didn't see that one coming. General Antilles' tactics were nothing short of brilliant." 

His mother smiled at him. "And how is my brother doing?" 

"Very well, I think. His family managed to escape the destruction of Coruscant, and his two daughters are safely hidden away with the Jedi somewhere." Jag said, taking a bite of his mother's dinner. "His wife is head of intelligence on Borleias." 

"It seems you have had quite the adventure among the Reps." Syal noted, using the military short form for New Republic personnel. "Made any good friends?" 

"One or two." Jag replied, trying to keep from blushing. 

"I see." His mother smiled at him, then turned to face her husband. "Soontir, dear, have you noticed your son is wearing a _Terwri_ necklace?" 

"I have, love. I was just waiting for you to bring it up." Jag winced inwardly at his fathers comment. _Blast it, I knew I should have taken it off while I was here._

"What's the big deal with Jag's necklace?" Luna asked, one of the few times she had spoken during the dinner. 

"A _Terwri_ necklace is an old Corellian custom that tells other women that the man wearing it belongs to someone." Syal explained. 

"Really? Who's the lucky girl, Jag?" Tarion, still sour about losing the race to the speeder, decided to get his revenge on his brother. Jag's cheeks colored slightly. 

"A friend of mine." 

"Well, she's obviously Corellian, at least partly." Soontir commented, apparently enjoying Jag's discomfort. 

"And probably a pilot, if I know my son well." Syal added. 

"A good one, most likely, but not as good as him." Tarion put in his own thoughts. "He needs to feel superior." 

"So, Jagged, who is this Corellian pilot that almost rivals your skills?" His mother asked. Jag chose not to answer, and tried to concentrate on his food. _Oh, this wasn't the way I wanted to tell them. I wanted to be at least a galaxy away so I could escape the questions._ His mother pressed further, "Come on, Jag, at least give us a clue. What squadron is she in?" 

Jag sighed, seeing no escape. "She was with Rogue squadron, but now commands her uncle's squadron, Twin Suns." 

Soontir almost choked on his food, and was forced to clear his throat repeatedly to clear it. "I don't believe it. You're joking, right?" 

"No, sir." Jag blinked, blushing even more deeply now. 

Soontir smiled slightly at this, then turned to his wife. "Syal, darling, it seems that your son is dating none other than Jaina Solo." 

His mothers eyes widened in surprise, and he heard Tarion chuckle. "Go Jag. A Jedi, a pilot, the former chief-of-state's daughter. Han Solo's daughter! You sure aim high." 

"Are you sure it's not someone pretending to be Jaina Solo?" Luna asked him. "I mean, there must be some people out there impersonating celebrities for privileges during war time." 

"Nice to know you have such high opinions of me." Jag growled at his brother and sister. He glanced up at his mother, and noticed that the look of surprise was replaced with a slight grin. 

"Tarion, Luna, clear the table, and wash the dishes." Tarion and Luna obeyed their mothers commands with minimal whining. "Let's retire to the living quarters, shall we?" 

"Yes, ma'am." Jag obeyed, pushing his chair in its place under the table. The main room was on the other side of the house, overlooking the main area of the city. High windows on one side of the room made it seem like they were sitting on a balcony, and the relatively high position of the house provided a beautiful view of the city below. Jag could make out the little lights of speeders passing down streets. Although nowhere near as busy as Coruscant, there were large amounts of people outside. The weather was relatively good for this time of year, and people were celebrating the holiday. His father went over to a small cabinet and took out some brandy. 

"So, Jag, how come we heard nothing of this until today?" His mother resumed the questioning. "I would have though that the Holonet would be all over the news." 

"The Holonet, or what's left of it, doesn't know about it." Jag answered, accepting a glass from his father. "Not many people do, for security reasons." 

"Security reasons?" Syal asked, nodding her thanks to her husband for the drink. 

Jag sighed. "Jaina is part of a team working on psychological warfare with the Vong. They believe that she might be associated with one of their goddesses, and the New Republic military is trying to play on that." 

"And it wouldn't be good for her image to be seen with a lowly pilot? Is that what you're implying?" His father asked him, frowning. 

"Actually, sir, yes. That's exactly it. The Yuuzhan Vong don't know anything about me, and they most likely won't believe that one of their goddesses would even speak to me, much less form a relationship with me." Jag replied. 

"What? Who thought up that reasoning?" His father scoffed. 

"I did, sir." 

Soontir frowned, as did Syal. She turned to her husband. "I thought pilots were known for their egos. Our son seems to have misplaced his." 

Jag smiled. "It's not a matter of my ego, but common sense. We want them to think Jaina's a goddess, and there's no way a Yuuzhan Vong goddess would date a pilot, no matter how handsome he is." 

His parents both smiled. "You were saying something about his ego?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

"Kyp, close it up a bit. You're drifting too far out." 

"As ordered, Goddess." Jaina winced slightly at the title, but said nothing in return. She had thought she would have gotten used to being called that by now, but something inside her still resented her role. The Republic is in its most desperate hour, and Jaina resented the fact that she spent most of her time weaving or training. At least they were still letting her fly. 

_I should be out there, on Coruscant. Looking for Jacen._

She eased her X-wing around a piece of debris that had fallen into orbit around Borleias. She saw Kyp Durron's X-wing follow her maneuver and return to his place, flanking her. If he caught on to Jaina's frustration, he was keeping silent about it. "Kyp, send Control a message: Twin Suns report no sightings of Vong activity in the area." 

Kyp double clicked his comm, and Jaina heard him switch to a different frequency to hail the biotics facility on the ground. The comm clicked when he switched back to the squadron frequency. "The Vong have been rather quiet the last few weeks. They've got to be up to something." 

"Probably planning something," Jaina agreed. "We brought down a couple of their ships, but they seemed to have only been scouts." 

"They're gathering information," Kyp said. "They don't want to get hit by the _Lusankya_ like that again." 

Jaina was about to respond when something caught her eye. Her sensors showed the giant worldship at the edge of the Pyria system beginning a slow turn. "Control, this is Twin Suns lead. The Vong seem to be on the move." 

"Affirmative, Twin Lead," a female voice returned over the comm. "General Antilles requests that you go in for a closer look, but to not engage the enemy." 

"Kyp, let's go check it out. Set your sensors to record the data." Kyp double clicked the comm, and he and Jaina broke away from the Borleias atmosphere and went further into deep space. _If they pull that stunt with refugees again, Vong heads will roll._

They moved into position, their weapons fired up and their s-foils in attack position. The Vong ship didn't seem to be launching any fighters, but actually recalled those that were outside the ship. 

"I think they're preparing to jump into hyperspace," Kyp said. Jaina nodded to herself, and checked her sensors. The worldship was turning on its axis. 

"Cappie," Jaina addressed her droid. "Once they've settled on a course, plot all the possible destination points." 

Her droid bleeped off an affirmative. 

* * *

Czulkang Lah sat in his command chair aboard the worldship, awaiting his son's appearance on the villip. He sat silently, fuming on the inside; his son had not contacted him personally. Rather, he had a subordinate initiate contact. _And now he's making me wait for him!_

The villip finally formed into something resembling Tsavong Lah's features. His father looked disapprovingly at him. "Warmaster. You grace me with your presence." 

"I apologize for the wait, father." Tsavong replied, either not noticing his father's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it. "I have a new assignment for you." 

Czulkang Lah leaned forward in his chair. "You are replacing me over Borleias?" He asked, straining to keep him voice even. _I have lost a battle, something you yourself seem to be doing more of as this war progresses! If you replace me now, son, you will spell the doom of the Yuuzhan Vong._

"Having you at Borleias would be a waste of time. I do not wish to engage this General Antilles again until we know more," Tsavong informed him. "However, I do believe the time has come for us to conquer the area the infidels call 'The Unknown Regions'. It has come to my attention that we have seen a few of their warriors who demonstrated an extreme superiority in flying." 

"I will need to know more about these infidels." Czulkang replied. 

"We don't have much information, but what we do know is that one of their most prominent tacticians was of this race. My worldship's yammosk will contact yours soon with everything we know." Tsavong leaned in closer to the villip. "I have sent Domain Giil to assist you. May you bring glory to the gods." 

"It will be done, Warmaster," Czulkang promised. "I must ask you: How is my special project coming?" 

Tsavong looked to his right at someone Czulkang couldn't see, and asked about the status of his project. Czulkang couldn't hear the reply, but his son seemed pleased by the reply. "Your ooglith masquer is almost complete. The Domain Giil worldship will be receiving it, and it shall be passed on to you once you reach Adumar." 

"Thank you, warmaster." Czulkang stroked his villip, and it inverted, ending the communication. He turned to one of his aides. "Signal the scouts to return, and prepare for a jump. The yammosk will know where momentarily." 

The aid saluted and went off on her task. Czulkang leaned back in his chair as he felt the slight jerk of his ship beginning to move. He pulled on the cognition hood, and brought up the information on this race who called themselves 'the Chiss'. 

* * *

"The Vong ship jumped into hyperspace approximately 2 hours ago." Jaina watched General Wedge Antilles point to the holo display of the ship rotating on its axis, and disappear into the star field. "Assuming they don't stop to change their course, the possible destinations include Adumar and Bastion. Adumar could not be reached at this time, but Bastion has been warned..." 

Jaina drowned out the rest of Wedge's speech as a sick feeling came over her stomach. The pain in her stomach increased and spread to other parts of her body, and she felt a slight twinge of urgency in there too. She did her best to try to dampen its effects on her. Kyp glanced at her, and she reached out to him with the Force. She found the same feeling in him, albeit less severe. Frowning, she relaxed and let the Force guide her actions. Before she knew what she was doing, she had brought up a galactic map of the Adumar sector on her datapad. She inhaled sharply. 

"Solo? You got something to contribute?" Wedge's voice brought her attention back to the meeting. Jaina became aware that everyone in the room was watching her. 

She cleared her throat. "Sir, I think it's safe to assume that Adumar is captured by the Vong." At Wedge's nod, she continued, "Adumar is the closest known world to both us and the Vong to Chiss space in the Unknown Regions." 

Wedge frowned at this, and brought up the galactic map on the main display. "Do we have any reason to believe that the Vong would target the Chiss?" 

"It's... It's just a feeling, sir." Jaina admitted. 

"You want me to make a decision based on a feeling?" Wedge asked incredulously. "Come on, Jaina, think for a second." 

Jaina smiled despite the growing fear that Wedge would not agree. "I'm a Jedi, sir. We feel, not think." Wedge glared at her, and Jaina quickly swallowed. _Not the best time for a joke._ "Sir, if the Chiss really are in danger, we have to assist them in some way." 

Wedge sighed. "Agreed, Lieutenant. We will warn them of their danger." He turned to Tycho. "Send the _Lusankya_ to warn them." 

Tycho stared at Wedge for a second before replying, "Yes, sir." 

An officer Jaina didn't know spoke up. "General, I'm sorry, but I don't think we should commit the _Lusankya_ to that. It's probably a trap, some ploy to leave Borleias undefended." Jaina held her breath. Her feeling neither confirmed nor denied the officer's suspicions, which Jaina took as a good sign. 

"Hey, he's Wedge Antilles!" Wes Janson said, sitting across from Tycho on Wedge's left arm. "He can defend Borleias by himself with just a blaster and a thermal detonator." 

Lando Calrissian leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "I though that's what they say about Han Solo." 

"Well, he's here too." Wes pointed out, smiling at Jaina's parents, who were trying to hide their smirks. "And we all know how Corellians feel about odds." 

"Wes, I told you, you can come to the meeting if you don't say anything." Wedge shook his head at Wes' protests. He turned his attention to the officer who had spoken. "We have sufficient defenses here to hold off any attack for however long it takes us to evacuate. I'm going to hope it doesn't come to that." 

Jaina sighed with relief, and once again tuned out the conversation happening around her. The Force gave her a clear warning about the Vong's destination, and Jaina had acted on it. Neither she, Kyp, nor her mother had sensed anything about the _Lusankya_'s departure. 

The meeting was adjourned, and she small group broke up into several different conversations. Kyp and Jaina tried to slip out before being pulled into one of the chats, but Wedge called them back in. "I assume you want to take your X-wings and go with the _Lusankya_." 

Jaina nodded. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," Wedge said, and Jaina's feeling of dread returned to her. _Another warning from the Force?_. No, this one felt different. It had the characteristic of a vision in the way it felt, but no images were directed at her. _This feeling... This is what will happen in the future if I don't go. I'm going to need to meditate on this as soon as possible._

"Sir?" She heard Kyp ask, and concentrated on the conversation at hand. She took a deep breath to relax herself. 

"Jaina, I don't want to send you into unnecessary risk." Wedge looked apologetic. 

Jaina forced herself to keep a straight face and not explode in anger. _'Unneccessary risk? If Jag's in danger, nothing short of Palpatine's return will keep me away from him!_ "As ordered, sir." 

Wedge blinked in surprise. "I thought I'd have to put you under house arrest to keep you from going." 

Jaina slapped a false smile on her face. "Sir, I understand that I have duties and responsibilities here." 

Wedge merely nodded, but Jaina could sense suspicion forming in his mind. _I guess I over-acted a bit. We're going to have to do this sooner than I'd like._ Wedge excused himself, and went over to talk to Tycho. Jaina quickly pulled Kyp with her, and they left the conference room. 

"I take it we're not staying on Borleias?" Kyp asked sarcastically when they were alone in the corridor. 

"We leave soon, Kyp. Very soon." Jaina said, ignoring his remark. "Meet me by our ships in half an hour." 

Kyp looked at her, shocked. "We're leaving tonight?" 

"When did you think we were leaving?" 

"Tomorrow. Very early in the morning." 

Jaina grinned. "Wedge knows something's up. I don't want to give him more of a chance to stop us." She said, and broke into a run to her quarters. Kyp ran to his own. 

* * *

"You could get thrown out of the military for this, you know." 

"Shut up. I don't want them over-hearing this conversation." Jaina snapped. She and Kyp were not aboard a military shuttle running techs to the SSD _Lusankya_. They had used falsified records and Force-suggestion to get on board unnoticed, and seemed to be in the clear. _That's no reason to let our guard down, though._ "Besides, I'm not doing anything wrong." 

"You're disobeying orders. General Antilles told you not to go." 

"General Antilles told me not to take my X-wing and go," Jaina corrected him. "He said nothing about actually going with the _Lusankya_." 

Kyp sighed. "You're disobeying a direct order. No matter how he worded it, you know what he meant. Wedge won't be too happy about this." 

"I've disobeyed direct orders before." Jaina snapped. "And nothing ever came of that." 

Kyp frowned at her. "Thanks to Jag's intervention. Don't get cocky, Jaina. Wedge won't let you push him around." 

"Is this another lesson, Master Durron?" Jaina asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

Kyp ignored it. Instead, he kept his voice even. "Anything I say is a lesson." 

"Sure." 

Kyp glared at her. "This conversation isn't over, Jaina. Sometime soon we'll have to discuss your growing arrogance." 

"Yes, master," Jaina said sweetly. "Any more wisdom to depart?" 

"Plenty," Kyp growled. "But now is not the time for a lightsaber match." 

Jaina grinned. "Fine. So I'll get in major trouble for doing this. But it still feels right, Kyp." She took a seat at one of the benches in the empty corridor of the shuttle. "You feel it too." 

Kyp sat down beside her. "Are you sure you're not motivated by, oh, let's say, personal reasons?" 

"No, I'm not sure that I'm not," Jaina replied. "But why would you have the same feeling?" 

His reply was cut off by a voice coming over the ship-wide comm. "Five minutes until we dock with the _Lusankya_. Please have your orders ready and all your tools gathered..." 

Kyp stood up. "I guess we better go with the other techs." They got their false ID's out and prepared their fake orders. 

Jaina couldn't keep from remembering what Kyp had said to her. _Say what you want about my arrogance, Kyp, but I am following the Force. And the will of the Force,_ Jaina thought to herself, _is beyond contestation._

* * *

Wedge looked up from his terminal to acknowledge Han and Leia. He gestured for them to take a seat in front of his desk, and waited until they settled themselves until he spoke. "Your daughter is missing." He said bluntly. 

"What?" That was Han, not bothering to hide his shock. He jumped up from his seat to glare at Wedge. 

Leia remained unfazed. "I know." 

"What?" Han turned his glare on his wife, and was joined by Wedge's frown. 

"Did she come to you?" He asked Leia. 

Leia shook her head. "Of course not. But I sensed something from her at that meeting. She felt something in the Force, something telling her to go." 

"So it's safe to assume that she went with the _Lusankya_?" 

Leia nodded, and a look of disapproval fell over Han's face. Wedge sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Han, Leia, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to punish Jaina for this when she gets back, if not sooner." 

Both Han and Leia nodded, and Wedge continued, "She's disobeyed orders before, but I can't let things slide anymore, whether she's right or wrong." 

"What sort of thing do you have in mind?" Han asked, sitting back down and shifting slightly in his chair to make himself more comfortable. 

"I'm not sure yet. She is too involved with everything here to simply take her off the line," Wedge replied. "I was going to hope to get some insight from you." 

"I have a suggestion." 

"Han?" Wedge spread out his hands in an 'I'm listening' gesture. 

The next few minutes were occupied with Han told telling them his plan. Wedge listened intently, and smiled every once in a while. _It should at least be amusing, if it accomplishes nothing else._

Once Han was finished, Wedge considered the total plan for a moment. "It has potential, but it depends on one thing: Jaina going along with it." 

"She'll want to be where the action is, Han," Leia agreed. "She won't agree to this." 

"She won't have a choice," Han reminded them. "Not if she wants to stay in the military." 

"And if she doesn't?" 

Han was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Do you think Jag would leave the military?" 

Wedge grinned. "Not a chance." 

Han's expression remained serious. "Then Jaina stays." 

* * *

_Jaina was on Yavin 4. Not the Yavin 4 she had grown up on, trained on, but Yavin 4 as she imagined it looked like today. The millennia old ziggurats were gone, replaced by the Vong's alien creatures that shaped the world. Jaina saw thousands, perhaps millions of the Yuuzhan Vong, working and training. She passed through them undetected. _

She wasn't quite sure of where she was going, but she walked determinedly nonetheless. The Yuuzhan Vong activities seemed to slow to a crawl as Jaina passed them. She paid them no attention. She continued walking to wherever her feet were taking her. 

She found herself on the edges of a field of some sort of crop. Countless slaves of every possible race were working there, knee deep in murky water, pulling out the plants by their roots. A few Yuuzhan Vong warriors walked through the rows, monitoring their progress. Jaina felt the urge to join them. 

She walked straight into the water among the slaves, who continued to work at their slow rate. Jaina wondered at the back of her mind why her legs weren't soaked. She looked down to find that the water seemed to shy away from her, leaving her a dry trail to walk through. 

A great wookie below brought her head up and she looked around for the source. She noticed one wookie slave straighten up and turn to look at her. It was a moment before she realized that she was looking at Chewbacca. 

"Chewie?" 

Chewbacca roared off a question. Jaina caught the gist of it; he was asking about her strength. Before she could ask him any questions, Chewbacca returned to his work, and his pace returned to the slow goings of the rest of the slaves. Jaina continued on. 

"Are you strong enough, Jaina?" 

Jaina looked for the source of the sound, and found a girl about her own age, a smile on her face, looking at her. "Anni?" 

Anni Capstan, Jaina's first wingmate in Rogue Squadron, grinned broadly. Then, as if nothing had happened, she returned to her work. Jaina looked ahead and noticed some more familiar faces. Countless Jedi stood up in unison, and Jaina recognized Miko Reglia and Wurth Skidder first, before seeing the faces of all those who had died sine the Vong invasion. All the fatalities of the Myrkyr mission were there, and they spoke in unison, inquiring about her strength. Jaina just looked at them, offering no answer. 

"Do you know your duty, Jaina?" Jaina closed her eyes as she heard the all too familiar voice behind her. She turned around to face her little brother. "Are you strong enough?" 

"For what, Anakin?" Jaina managed to ask. Her brother looked different in his face; more mature, more troubled. He looked haunted. 

"It would have been my duty," Anakin continued on, not answering Jaina's question. "Now it must be yours. Are you ready?" 

"For what, Anakin?" Jaina repeated, almost pleading with her little brother. 

"For whatever it takes." Anakin dropped her gaze and looked around the field. Jaina followed his line of vision and stared at the vast amount of space occupied by the slaves. The dead,_ Jaina realized, _all these people are dead!_ The field was never-ending. She turned back to ask Anakin another question, but he was already gone. The rest of the slaves paid no more attention to her. Jaina walked out of the field. _

She stepped back on the mainland and turned to look at the field of the dead one more time, but it was gone, replaced by a spotless white. Something grabbed Jaina's shoulder and spun her around. She came face to face with a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. 

"Are you ready, Jaina?" It spoke in a perfect imitation of Jacen's voice. 

Jaina's eyes fluttered open, and she gasped for air. She had gone into a deep meditation in hopes to see a vision of the future, and why she was being called to the Unknown Regions. _Strong enough for what?_

Anakin's voice sang out in her mind: "For whatever it takes." 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Jag awoke to the sound of a speeder approaching the window beneath his old room in his parents house. He had always been a light sleeper; his time in the military taught him that enemies don't necessarily consider if their opponent is trying to rest when they attack. Plus, an almost lifetime spent in military bases and army cots had gotten him used to somewhat uncomfortable sleeping conditions, so he never quite felt at home in his old bed, which felt like he was sleeping on air. He blinked his eyes a moment to adjust his vision to the darkness, and stayed put so to not make any noise. He could hear the faint whisperings of someone outside. 

Then a window nearby slid open, and he heard a voice coming from the room next to him. Luna's room. Jag rolled out of bed quietly and positioned himself against his own window. The people from the speeder were speaking again, "...fake...great...'Maxxier'... hurry..." 

Jag couldn't quite make out his sisters response, but he got the gist of it when she jumped out of the second story window and landed soundlessly on the ground some two meters below. Jag peered out the window and saw her jump into the backseat of the speeder and watched it cruise down the deserted street, turning in the direction of the downtown district. 

Jag was already half way dressed before he stopped to consider his actions. _Luna is a grown adult, by Chiss standards. If she wants to do something, I can't exactly stop her._ But then again, Luna was going to an over twenty-one club, and she was barely sixteen. The 'Maxxier' was a somewhat popular club even when Jag had lived on this planet, but had a bad reputation for attracting all kinds of criminals and lowlifes. Jag doubted very much that much had changed since then. 

Jag finished dressing and silently crept through the house. He scribbled down a note saying he went out because he couldn't sleep, and borrowed one of the family speeders. He punched in the proper access codes, and went on his way down the familiar streets to the club. 

Thankfully, due to the late hour, even for club goers, the line was very small. Jag was content to wait it out, especially considering the only alternative would be to pull out his military ID and cause a scene. He dropped that idea the second he came up with it. _It's not like I have any official standing on Csilla, anyway. Might even get arrested for impersonating law enforcers,_ he thought sourly. He got to the front of the line and ran his civilian ID through the scanning droid. His picture came up on the screen for a second, and Jag grimaced; the picture hadn't been updated in four years. The droid gave him authorization and gave him a quick rundown of the rules in both the native Chiss language, which was virtually extinct, and Basic. Jag nodded and pretended to listen. The droid finally allowed him entry, and brought up the guard rail that was in Jag's path. 

The club interior was darker than Jag would've liked, for he found that if it were not for the Chiss' naturally bright red eyes, he would not be able to keep himself from bumping into other people. The darkness also limited his chances of finding his sister. Jag surveyed what he could see of the club; one side of the club was dedicated to the enormous bar that had a crowd of people pushing to get to the front of the line. Further into the club, there was a dais that Jag assumed was used for live bands. Considering from how small it was, he figured that this club mainly played pre-recorded music. 

Jag started to move through the club, trying to get a glimpse of everyone without making it seem like he was staring. Judging from some of the looks he received, he didn't think he achieved it very well. _I'm going to have to get the Wraiths or Iella Antilles to get me some undercover training._ Jag stopped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. 

A Chiss with a shaved head and strange tattoo on his neck was behind him, a small grin on his face. Jag looked at him expectantly. "What?" 

"You seem tense, friend," the Chiss said. "I have something that'll loosen you up a bit." 

"I'm not interested," said Jag. He tried to step away from the pusher, but he felt the Chiss's hand grip his shoulder. He spun around. 

The Chiss was still smiling. "Come on, it's just a death stick. I'll let you sample one, on me." 

Jag sighed. He didn't want it to have to come to this, but he also didn't want to have to deal with drug pushes his whole time here. He grabbed the man's hand off his shoulder and twisted it behind his back, pushing the Chiss up against a nearby pillar face-first. Several red eyes turned to look at him, but none gave it much notice; apparently, brawls were a common occurrence here. "Listen, 'friend', I didn't survive over 200 battles to be killed by something called a 'death stick' in some second-rate club surrounded by scum like you." He released the man. "Do me a favor and pass that sentiment along to your buddies." 

The man messaged his shoulder, and stared at Jag for a few seconds, debating whether to strike him, but decided against it. There were very few humans living among the Chiss, even fewer in the military. _Odds are, he knows who I am, and word will pass quickly through this place._ He started searching the club for his sister again. _She's going to have some explaining to do when I find her. What could she possibly be doing with anyone who frequents this place?_

"... And they send our armies and our soldiers into the Core-worlds, to help the Republicans, day-in and day-out. And we're supposed to believe that they care for our safety?" Jag heard the faint but distinguishable voice. Jag followed it to a corner of the club. A Chiss about Jag's own age stood on one of the chairs. His long hair and loose clothing made him stand out of the crowd that was surrounding him, listening to his speech. Jag decided to hear this out. "It just goes to show how corrupt our government is: They condemn first-strikes, and yet, there they are, sending boys into war! The invaders have shown no interest in us, yet we continue to provoke them. We have so many problems on our own territory that need to be solved. We aren't galactic police! Chiss interests should come first!" 

A small murmur of agreement passed through the crowd. Jag leaned against a nearby pillar, his search for his sister put on hold as he tried to recognize the speaker. He seemed familiar to Jag, but he couldn't quite place him. 

"I'm not saying that the Republicans don't deserve our help," the man continued. "On the contrary, the Republic, or more-so, the Rebel Alliance before them, are a true guerrilla army. They fought for what they believed in, and they won against over-whelming odds. We should look up to them for that. And follow in their example. How many cities are there that the Csillian government just ignores? The whole western continent is so poor that they have to rely on donations from the East -- the part of Csilla that is responsible for their poverty -- to continue living. The only time the ruling houses even look at the West is when they need fresh recruits!" 

Then, suddenly, Jag got it. Hilrar Justeruo was at one of Thrawn's academies with Jag for a while. They weren't friends and barely knew each other, Jag having been groomed to be a pilot, and Hilrar was in the commando course. The only reason Jag even remembered Hilrar was that he got expelled a few months before graduation. The details were still a little sketchy, but from what Jag could remember, Hilrar had sliced into the academy terminals with malicious intent. _I would have thought he would have been in jail for something by now, not trying to rally troops for a revolution!_

Jag was about to move on when he caught sight of his quarry. Luna was standing at the edge of Hilrar's audience, eyes wide and transfixed on the stage, hanging on Hilrar's every word. Jag stared for a second, not sure of what to do. _I thought what I knew of you before this was bad, Luna, but this is just disappointing. I thought you were smarter than this._ He pushed his way carefully through the crowd, and came to stand behind his sister. "Charismatic speaker, isn't he?" 

Luna whipped he head around to face him. Recognition flashed in her eyes for a second, before it turned to anger. "You followed me?" she hissed. 

"Well, I didn't want to miss 'Idiots Night' at the Maxxier. It's not every day that I get to hear this much stupidity." Jag retorted. 

"Go away, Jagged. No one wants you here." Luna made a face at him, before turning back to Hilrar, who was talking again. 

"And I don't want _you_ here." Jag said. He took her by the elbow. "Let's go for a walk." 

Luna tried to pull her arm free, but Jag kept a firm grip on it. "What are you, my mother?" 

"Would you like me to get your mother?" 

"You're going to tell them anyway, it might as well be now!" Luna snapped, louder than she intended. Hilrar stopped speaking to look at them, and those around them had turned as well. 

Jag just glared at them. "Family matter. It's personal." He gestured to Hilrar, "Continue with your speech." 

A small smile broke out on Hilrar's face, and Jag could almost sense the maliciousness behind it. "Well, friends, it looks like we have a guest speaker today. Jagged Fel, why don't you enlighten us with your war tales. Tell me, has the war been enjoyable." 

Jag continued to hold his sister's arm and turned to face Hilrar. "It's war, Justeruo. 'Enjoyable' isn't the word I'd use to describe it." 

"And what would you use to describe it?" Hilrar asked, the same smile still on his face. 

"Necessary." Jag answered bluntly. Jag wasn't interested in having a debate with Hilrar, at least not tonight. He was tired and angry, and didn't trust himself to keep his emotions in check. He pulled on Luna's arm and she was forced to walk with him; the only other alternatives were falling or starting a fight. 

Hilrar wasn't going to let him leave quietly, however. He jumped off of the chair and pushed through the crowd. "'Necessary?' You find it necessary to send out soldiers to their deaths?" He called after them. 

Jag spun around and finally dropped his sisters arm. "I find it necessary to fight for what I believe in, and, unlike you, I have educated beliefs." 

"Well, then, care to enlighten us?" Hilrar sneered at him. 

"Not really. It's not my duty to save you from your own stupidity." Jag turned his back to the crowd, which had now erupted in insults aimed at him, and looked at his sister. "Let's go." 

"I don't want to." Luna hissed at him. "I leave now, I'll never get back in." 

"What are we waiting for, then?" Jag guided her out of the club, and tried to ignore the eyes and comments directed at him. 

The street outside was deserted. There was a slight breeze blowing in the night, and even though they were in the summer season on Csilla, Jag still felt a little cold. He wished he had grabbed a coat before he ran out. He glanced at Luna and was slightly relieved that she was adequately dressed. However, the pure look of anger on her face didn't have the same positive effect on him. "What is your problem?" 

"I was just completely embarrassed in there!" Luna spat at him 

Jag rolled his eyes at her. "You should be more embarrassed that you were in there in the first place. Just get in the speeder, Luna." 

"Typical authoritarian oppression." Jag turned his head sideways at the sound, and found himself staring at a group of about half a dozen Chiss, with Hilrar at the front. "Spoken like someone who was used to having his orders obeyed. We'll, I'll let you in on a little secret, Fel: You don't own us." 

"Why would I want to?" Jag countered, getting into the speeder, and gesturing for Luna to do the same. She sighed dramatically, but obeyed. Jag keyed the speeder on, and the roar of the engines coming to life filled the streets. 

"You said you had educated beliefs, Jagged! I'd sure like to know what those are!" Hilrar had to shout to be heard over the noise. 

Jag piloted the speeder in a slow turn and came to a stop beside Hilrar and his group, putting the engines on stand-by. The amount of noise diminished considerably. "You know nothing of the Yuuzhan Vong, of their culture, their philosophy. If you did, you would know your duty is to fight and defeat them, not sprout off theories in second-rate bars away from the actual fighting. If you knew half of what you claim to, you'd know that negotiations and declarations of neutrality mean nothing to them." 

"Spoken like a true ignorant soldier." Hilrar sneered. "You neglect to mention the other reasons Csilla wants to go to war: Boost the economy, get rid of some of their criminals by conscripting them into the army... I could go on, you know." 

"If you'd like to keep making a fool of yourself, then please, by all means, continue." 

Hilrar frowned at him. "Funny, I thought I was winning this argument." 

"I am not justifying war, Justeruo, nor condoning the actions of politicians." Jag sighed and shook his head. "Have you ever heard of that story of the Jawa and the Gammorean?" 

"Of course. Jawa gets bullied by the Gammorean, and goes to get his friends to help him fight it off. What's your point?" 

"What was the moral of the story?" 

Hilrar looked around his group, unsure of what to say. He was met with equally confused glances. "Strength in numbers?" Hilrar finally guessed. 

Jag nodded. "If we were to follow your plans, we'd all blockade ourselves in our own systems and wait for the Vong to wipe us out, one by one. If we pool our resources together, however, we stand a better chance of defeating the Vong." 

"That's assuming the Vong want to dominate the galaxy." 

"I _know_ the Vong want to take over the galaxy." Jag keyed his speeder on again. The engines roared loudly. "I just hope," he shouted, "that when the Vong come to Csilla, you are prepared to fight, not talk." 

Jag cut off any comment Hilrar might have made to him by driving out of the designated parking area. He had more pressing matters to deal with, and, frankly, Hilrar Justeruo's opinion of him didn't matter to him all that much. What did worry him was that Luna seemed to care about it. She wouldn't meet his gaze and sat fuming, staring out side of the speeder. He decided to have a talk with her before they went home. He veered off the main street and took a side street, away from his house. Luna looked back, then stared at him in confusion. "Um, Jag, I know you've been away for a while, but we still live in _that_ direction." Luna jerked a thumb towards the back of the speeder. 

Jag grinned, but didn't let Luna see it. "I want to talk to you before I let our parents deal with you." 

"We don't have anything to talk about." 

"You don't have to talk. Just listen for a change." Jag said, trying to keep his voice even. He didn't want to start this conversation while he was operating heavy machinery. Luna also didn't seem eager to talk to him, so she sat quietly. 

After a few minutes wandering the streets, Jag found the perfect place. He parked the speeder and got out to observe his surrounding. The parking area had been abandoned for some time, as was the office complex that was next to it. There was a small rail at the edge of it, and Jag peered over to look what was below. A few meters in front of him, the ground steeply dropped off, and Jag could see a river below. He walked back to the speeder and leaned against the front. The metal was cool, causing him to shiver. A moment later, he heard Luna exit the speeder as well, and she walked to stand beside him. "He had some good points, Jagged, you have to admit that." 

"Of course he did. But it's hardly original; you can go to a thousand different worlds that are engaged in this war and you'll still hear the same sentiments," Jag pointed out. "What he said can be applied to any war." 

"Just because it's not original doesn't make it wrong, Jagged," Luna said. 

Jag sighed. "Do politicians always have a second motive? Yes. Do people die in war? Yes. Is this war really necessary? Probably not. But that's not for us to decide; it's in the Vong's hands. They came into this galaxy ready to fight. It's self-defense." 

Luna sneered. "That's probably what they tell their little Vong children, too." 

"So you're comparing yourself to Vong children? Kind of fitting, at least on a mental level." 

"Oh, shut up Jagged." Luna snapped at him. 

"No, I'm serious. Come on, really, Luna, how much of that do you really believe?" Jag pressed on. "And how much of it is just some rebellion against our father?" 

Luna dropped his gaze and looked down. She didn't respond. 

Jag decided to let that part of their conversation rest there, at least for now. "Let's try a different conversation. Your grades at school haven't exactly been excellent, or so I'm told." 

This brought Luna's head up. "So? Everyone knows that your school grades are hardly the measure of your intelligence." 

"Wrong," Jag reprimanded her. "You should know that you can't get ahead in life unless you do well in your schooling. You say you want to make changes to the way this planet is run? Well, you can't do it from the outside, trying to get in. You have to be on the inside. This is why smart people do well in school. It's not because they're smart enough to understand the material; it's because they're smart enough to know that they need it." 

Luna said nothing as she took this in. She crossed her arms and leaned back on the speeder. They sat in silence, trying to ignore the cold. Jag wished for warmer clothes for the second time that night. Shivers kept running through his body. 

"Hey, a shooting star." Jag looked up at the sky and followed Luna's gaze, but he saw nothing. Luna continued to stare at the sky. "Maybe it is just a rebellion." 

Jag glanced at her, and said nothing. 

"I don't think so, though," Luna continued on. "Some of the stuff I've read makes sense, to me at least." 

Her eyes were still fixed on the sky. Jag followed suit, and noticed the lack of activity in the atmosphere. On most of the worlds in this galaxy, a high number of civilian traffic takes place in the skies, but on Csilla, no air lanes had been established. The majority of the population used speeders to get around, and as a result the sky was clear and millions of stars and planets could be seen. "So what do you want to do about it?" Jag asked. 

Luna smiled at him. "I don't really know. Maybe go into politics." 

Jag grimaced. "Not the answer I wanted to hear." 

"I think I can do some good, really," Luna said, her voice almost sounding like she was pleading with him. "Save the world, maybe." 

"I don't know about saving the world, at least not this one." Jag gestured around him. "It would take far too long." 

Luna regarded him. "Then what do you suggest?" 

"The Republic has fallen," Jag said. "I know you said you don't want to be a part in this war, but if you think you can do good, well, the Reps could use the help." 

"I'm sure the Baron would just love having all his children join the New Republic." Luna laughed. 

Jag chuckled. "The Republic's dead. We'd be joining something totally different." 

"Great. Maybe Mom can make some inspirational holo-dramas for the troops." 

They both started laughing at that, their laughter carrying into the surrounding streets. Luna's laughter died out first. "Well." 

Jag looked at her, and she was staring at the sky again. "What?" 

"Must be a meteor shower or something." Luna said. Jag finally looked up and noticed several tiny lights moving in the distance. Then, the lights began to move off of their original course. _This can't be due to gravity. They must be--_. Jag's thoughts cut off when the lights formed a pattern he was all-too-familiar with. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up his back. 

_Coralskippers!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

A planet that reminded Jaina of the holos of Hoth she had seen when she was younger filled the viewpoint on the bridge. Jaina and Kyp had long ago stopped posing as technicians, for by the time the _Lusankya_ had first dropped out of hyperspace to adjust her coordinates, orders came in to assure that they would be treated as appropriate for a Goddess and her servant. Jaina had not used this power yet, for she and Kyp had spent most of their time meditating or training, but Jaina was glad to have it there; she didn't want to have to deal with some ranking officer when push came to shove. _And knowing my luck, push WILL come to shove._

The planet was known as Nirauan, the only planet that the New Republic was aware existed in Chiss space. Looking at it now, Jaina knew that this wasn't the Chiss home, but only a staging point for their military. 

"We're getting readings of life forms, but they're not sentient. In fact," a voice buzzed over the comlink on the bridge. "I don't think they're from this galaxy." 

"Vong planet-shapers." Kyp murmured and Jaina saw Commander Davip, _Lusankya_'s captain, nod. 

"Scouts, return to the hold. Nothing more is needed." Davip said, and turned to Jaina and Kyp. "What do you suggest we do?" 

"I don't think this is the Chiss home world," Jaina said. She turned to the navigational officer. "Are there any near-by systems?" 

"Plenty." The nav officer answered. "There's ten, at least, that are within the same traveling distance, and there's no way to know which one's are habitable. Not without more information." 

Jaina frowned. Ten systems would be too much to actually visit everyone of them, especially since the Vong were already a few hours ahead of them. She stretched with her feelings and tried to get any insight the Force might offer. Nothing happened. 

"Let's try this, then," Kyp said. He raised his voice, and turned to talk to the bridge crew. "Who's the communications officer here?" 

"I am," said a small man, perhaps in his middle ages. He stood up to let the other's see him with more clarity. 

Kyp turned to him. "Broadcast on a general frequency. They can undoubtedly pick it up." 

The com officer considered for a moment. "Yes sir, but we'd have to launch a relay. I doubt that the Vong would have left any operational, if they had indeed been here." 

Davip nodded his approval to the officer, and he quickly set about giving orders. "It shouldn't take too long once the relay is launched to find the right direction." 

Jaina nodded and excused herself from the conversation. She walked over to stand closer to one of the viewports, and rested against the railing. She saw the tiny engine emissions from the relay as it was launched from one of the bays. It dropped from sight as it disappeared in to the backdrop of Nirauan. Jaina knew that the planet should have been covered in snow completely, but red and green spots were appearing on the surface, big enough to be seen from space. The Yuuzhan Vong world shapers had been employed on more planets than Jaina could count. The little creatures would 'purify' the planet so that it could be used for the Vong's purposes, like ship and weapon building. Jaina shook her head at the thought of the Vong using another one of their own worlds against them in their quest for galaxy domination. 

"The relay's in place, if you want to listen." Jaina turned to look at Kyp, who had walked up to her. 

"Thanks." She turned back to look at the planet. 

Kyp seemed to be sensing her uneasiness. "Hey, I'm sure Jag wasn't on that thing when the Vong took it." 

Jaina smiled. "I know. I wasn't thinking about that." She paused, frowning. "Although, now I am." 

"Sorry." Kyp chuckled. "So, what were you thinking about?" 

"The war," Jaina said. She sighed. "What am I usually thinking about?" 

"I don't know. I don't want to know." 

Jaina was about to retort when static sounded throughout the bridge. Recovering from the initial shock, Jaina could hear faint pleads for assistance coming through the static. "What direction is that coming from?" Jaina heard Davip shout to be heard over the noise. 

Someone had the presence of mind to turn down the volume of the comm. "It's from a planetary system, alright." 

"Set our course and go to hyperspace as soon as you can," Davip yelled. "I want to be there before the whole world is turned into a Vong factory!" 

The _Lusankya_ jerked as it entered hyperspace, leaving the relay to float uselessly in space. 

* * *

"No answer! No sithspawned answer!" 

Jag gritted his teeth. "Alright, forget that. We're almost home anyway. Try the local law officials!" They were racing through the streets as fast as Jag could push the speeder to go. In the five minutes they had found out about the Vong presence on Csilla, they had been trying to reach their parents and wake them up. Fortunately, the Vong haven't taken an immediate interest in their city, so Jag and Luna would have enough time to raise an alarm. "Tell them to start an evacuation." 

"Like they'll listen," Luna murmured, dialing the frequency of the local police. 

Jag shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. We have to get off of the ground. It's the worst place to be." 

Luna got hold of the officials, who told her to remain calm and to wait for further instructions on the matter. Then they signed off. Luna cursed at the comm. 

Jag bit back his own comments, and tried to coax more power out of the engines. 

They reached their house, and both of them were out of the speeder before it came to a stop. Jag stumbled a bit when his feet reached the ground, but he recovered quickly. They ran into the house, both screaming at the top of their lungs for everyone to wake up. Tarion was the first out of his room, his flight suit half-way on. "If it's those damn pirates again--" He stopped once he realized he wasn't in his military barracks. "Wait a minute, what's with the shouting?" 

Jag almost laughed. Almost. "The Vong are here. Might as well keep that flight-suit on." He knocked once before barging in his parents' bedroom. "Mom, Dad." 

His father rose up on his elbow, yawning. "Jagged? What is it?" 

"Sir, the Vong are in-system," Jag said grimly. His parents shot out of bed, barraging him with questions to which he didn't know the answer to. His father ran to his office and started making calls to other Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo Phalanx officials who had been home for the holiday. Jag followed his mother to the main living chambers, where Luna had already turned on the local news. Nothing but static came through the comm. 

"Must be a media black-out," Tarion murmured. He ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. "Shouldn't they be telling people to start packing or something?" 

"It's not a media black-out." Jag turned at the sound of his fathers voice. Soontir's face was composed, but grim. "Our communications are down. They must have knocked them out first." 

Jag snapped off an elaborate curse he hadn't realized he knew. It took him a moment to realize that it was something he must have learned from the Republic's mechanics. No one commented on his choice of words; undoubtedly, they were thinking the same thing. "We have to do something." 

"Agreed," Soontir said. "We have to organize refugees, keep them from panicking." 

"'Organizing refugees'?" Tarion spat. "We should be flying!" 

"In what ships, Tarion?" Soontir asked calmly. "Unless you plan on vaping Vong in the family speeder, I don't see any way to get in the skies." 

Jag's brother couldn't keep the same cool demeanor. "We're better than any pilots in the Csillian military!" 

"But you're not in the Csillian military, are you?" Luna said, turning off the static-filled holo. "You're civilians, and that's how you will be treated." 

Tarion glanced at her, but didn't appear to register what she said. "There is no way they would deny ships to Jag, or you, Father!" 

"Tarion, they won't even let me fly my own ship in this system. They certainly won't let me fly one of their own," Soontir said. "No, our safest bet is to get to the _Morning Glory_ and try to get off world." 

Jag grimaced. The _Morning Glory_ was the family yacht, a similar design to Lando Calrissian's _Lady Luck_, but with far less modifications. The truth was, _Morning Glory_ had only been used once or twice for family vacations when Jag had been far younger, and usually just sat in storage, collecting dust. It was a fast ship, in good working order, and capable of putting up a fight if provoked, but nowhere near a match for even one coral skipper, let alone a whole fleet. Jag glanced around his family, and saw their facial expressions reflect his own thoughts. "I have another idea." 

"Jagged?" 

"They may not give you any ships, father, but Csilla is in league with the Republic now, and," Jag said, "I'm officially a member of the Republic. I might be able to get a ship, then I can fly cover for you." 

Tarion was quick to speak up. "I'm coming with you." 

"I need a copilot, and a gunner, Tarion," Soontir reminded him. Jag saw worry flash in his eyes, before his father regained his cool demeanor. 

"Luna can do it. She did go to a military school for a few years, you know. I assume she hasn't forgotten how to push the trigger." Tarion retorted, not being able to resist a jab at his younger sister. Luna was quick to retort. 

Jag looked at his father. He lowered his voice, so that Tarion and Luna, still engaged in an argument, wouldn't hear. "We'll be back before you launch, whether it's in the speeder or in a TIE. He'll fly with you, either way it goes." 

Soontir nodded, not letting any of his feelings show in his expression. _I hope I'm doing the right thing here. Dad obviously doesn't want Tarion flying, I just need to tell him that without bruising his ego, or, worse yet, making him do something stupid because of it._

"All right, listen up!" Soontir yelled at his two youngest children, breaking up the argument. "Tarion, go with Jag, see what you can get. Luna, you're coming with me and your mother to the _Glory_." He turned to Jag. "Let me know as soon as something happens. Hopefully, they won't knock out local communications until later in the battle." 

Jag nodded, and ran out the house, with Tarion at his heels. 

* * *

Jaina had never heard so much cursing in her life, not even when she would help her father and Chewbacca fix the _Falcon_. Looking out the viewport, however, she could completely understand the need for cursing. Not only was the Vong worldship in full attack mode already, but they had barely moved out of the hyperspace lane. When the _Lusankya_ reverted into realspace, the tip of the triangle almost collided with the worldship. Luckily, the worldship was just as disoriented, and in those first crucial moments when the _Lusankya_ was the most vulnerable, the worldship inflicted almost no damage. Now, the two capital ships were moving apart, each focusing all their firepower on the other. 

"Launch some fighters, keep those blasted skip's off of us!" Davip shouted over the noise. "And tell those commandos to get ready quick, because they're going to need to get down to that planet as soon as possible. We're running out of time, here!" 

"'Running out of time'?" Kyp, standing by Jaina, shouted. "Running out of time for what?" 

"An evacuation! We don't have enough resources to win this battle! We just need to get as many people of the ground as possible!" 

"We need to get on the ground, too," Jaina told Kyp, pulling on his sleeve to follow her to one of the hangars. 

"On the ground? Wouldn't we be of more use in X-Wings?" 

"No. At least, not me. I'm getting a feeling through the Force that I need to be on the ground," Jaina said. Kyp said nothing further, obviously not willing to let her go by herself. They made it to the hangar bay just as one of the commando teams was receiving its final orders. With their high status and ranking, getting a place aboard the transport wasn't a problem for the two Jedi. 

The transport left the hangar, and immediately, three X-Wings formed up in a tight formation to provide some cover fire. Only one made it all the way to the planet before returning to the fight. 

* * *

"Stupid politicians, always have something to say, some legal procedure to call up. Even the blazing military is full of tem! It's a wonder anything gets done with those idiots running the planet--" 

"Tarion! Enough! I know all this!" 

"Okay, sorry! It just makes me so mad!" 

Jag shook his head as they ran through the government building. The corridors were practically deserted except for a few droids wandering around, doing their duties. Almost everyone present had either evacuated, or was down in the war room, trying to help out. The Chiss the Fel brothers had spoken to, a Colonel in the Csillian forces, was disinterested and not very giving; he denied them any chance to help out, and just told them to go back to their homes and wait for further instructions on the evacuation. When Jag had reminded him of his status within the Republic, the Colonel had listed of some government protocols which apparently prevented Jag from seizing a flying craft. Deciding arguing would accomplish nothing, Jag pulled Tarion out of the meeting and they started on their way to the storage space where the _Morning Glory_ was situated. 

They left the building and started towards their speeder. They were almost off of the government property when three figures moved to the gate to block any possible exit. Jag veered sharply around, and circled to the other side of the building as fast as he could, only to discover that the other exit was blocked by the Yuuzhan Vong as well. _When did they get here so quickly?_ "Tarion, are you armed?" 

"No." 

"Good. Me, neither." 

"Oh." 

Jag turned the speeder once again, this time heading straight back to the government facility. Once they were near enough, both Jag and Tarion let out a long string of curses at the sight that greeted them; the security doors were already closed, preventing anyone, Vong, Human, or Chiss, from getting in or out. 

"I guess," Jag said, "we're staying for the fight." 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

As soon as Kyp and Jaina cleared the landing ramp, they had to dive for cover as a flight of coral skippers flew overhead, firing from their plasma canons at the team of commandos and the two Jedi. Their shuttle had landed in a small clearing in a dense forest near one of the cities, the pilot hoping that the plants and vegetation would hide the transport better. Judging from the four coral skippers that were attempting to erase them from existence, his plan hadn't succeeded. 

Jaina landed gracefully, flipping over and coming up in a low crouch position, her lightsaber out, but not yet ignited due to her desire to keep the Vong from knowing there were Jedi on the ground. She saw Kyp in the same position five meters to the left. She caught his eye, and at his nod, they leapt back in a Force-aided jump, somersaulting over some bushes into the thick forest. The commandos, there to protect and assist civilians in their evacuation, were on their own now, without the Jedi's help. 

Kyp and Jaina ran silently through the forest, using their link through the Force if communication was absolutely necessary. They didn't know whether the Vong already had agents in place, and didn't want to alert any of them in case they did. As the forest became more and more sparsely populated with trees, sounds of battle grew louder and louder, reaching their peak as Jaina and Kyp cleared the forest to come to the outskirts of a Chiss city. 

Jaina watched Kyp as he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, almost entering a trance like state for a few seconds. He opened his eyes and shook his head. "I get nothing from the Force, no direction or feelings at all." He turned to regard Jaina. "Which way do you want to go?" 

Jaina stopped and focused all her energy to her task. "Jag's over there," she said, pointing in the north-east direction. 

"Not the question I asked." 

Jaina exchanged another glance with him, before falling into the Force again, this time not searching, but open to suggestion. She almost immediately received a clear picture of a hangar, and a feeling that she should head west. She sighed. "I need to go west." 

Kyp turned to the west, surveying the site. "So we'll go west." He started to walk, but Jaina grabbed his arm. 

"Jag's over there." She pointed north-east again, where she could clearly sense Jag's bright presence through their bond. 

Kyp stared at her. "I don't believe this. Your priorities are really messed up, do you know that?" 

Jaina rolled her eyes at him. "Explain that." 

"Why are we really here, Jaina? Are we here because the Force guided you, or is this all about Jag?" 

"Does it matter?" Jaina countered. 

"Of course it matters! The ends never justify the means!" Kyp told her, waving a finger in her face. "You are helping defend this planet from a vicious attack. That's all well and good, if only it was your motive. You are here for your own selfish reasons, and that, _my apprentice_, is the dark side." 

"I'm getting tired of all these lessons, _Kyp_," Jaina said, using his first name to undermine his attempts to remind her that she was training under him. "What did _you_ hope to accomplish here?" 

Kyp looked at her for a minute, his mouth opening and closing several times. "You need help, Jaina. The truth is, the Force did guide you here, but it wasn't for Jag. I need to be here to make you realize that," he finally said. "Besides, your father would kill me if anything happened to you." 

Jaina just shook her head. "Fine, whatever, but I'm not changing my mind; I need o find Jag. Now, the only question is," Jaina stopped, locking eyes with Kyp. She almost smiled, remembering a similar conversation she had with Tahiri a few weeks earlier. "The only question is whether we both go find Jag, or if you go." 

"If you think I'm leaving you alone, you better be drunk, because I seriously hope that's not an idea you had when you were sober." 

"Okay, so we're both going after Jag?" Jaina asked sweetly. 

Kyp sighed and shook his head. "Fine, you win. I'll go find your boyfriend, you go save the world." 

"I always do." Jaina smiled lopsidedly, an expression she inherited from her father. 

"Right." Kyp took off towards the north-east, where Jaina had pointed to earlier. He looked over his shoulder as he ran. "And Jaina, this conversation about your motives and the dark side will be picked up again." 

"Yes, master," Jaina yelled over her own shoulder, taking of towards the west. "I'll just add it to the list, then!" 

* * *

After the fourth time circling the building grounds, Jag had to concede that there was no possible way out, other than the two gates. _The problem with that is,_ Jag though to himself, _is that the Vong also know this._ At least the Vong warriors weren't taking any immediate interest in them, besides a few thud bugs that were thrown at them once in a while. The warriors were just preventing their escape, for the time being, and were trying to find some way inside the government building. Jag leaned back and risked a glance off the enemy to look at the back seat. "Any luck back there?" 

"Well, I'm going to be able to start a very large bank account with all the loose credit chips I'm finding back here," Tarion's voice came back muffled. Jag saw him leaning all the way under the back seat. "But, unless you want to throw those, there aren't any useful weapons." 

Jag sighed, not liking what he was hearing. He pulled out his comlink, staring at it for a short moment. _It's my duty. All that matters is that they be safe._ Trying to compose himself again, he dialed his father's frequency. 

"Fel here." His fathers voice came back clearly and loudly, so even Tarion heard it. He straightened up and leaned in closer to Jag so he could hear what was going on. 

Jag closed his eyes. "Sir-- Father, it's Jag. We've-- We've got some problems. I don't think we're going to make it back to you." He felt Tarion tense up behind him, and silently cursed himself for taking his brother with him. _I should have made him stay with the rest of the family! Damn it, he doesn't deserve this. He's not even part of the blasted war!_

Jag's comlink was silent for a moment, before his fathers distraught voice came through again. "Jagged, where are you? We'll bring the _Glory_ around--" 

"Father!" Jagged screamed with more force than he originally intended to; he threw the speeder into a sharp turn, and the force that slammed into his chest made him raise his voice unintentionally. "There is no point! Just pack in as many refugees as you can, and blast out of here. I--I'm sorry we can't fly cover for you." 

"Jagged--!" 

Jag shut off his comlink, and threw it to the passenger side. A moment, Tarion moved back to the front of the speeder. Jag risked a glance in his direction, and was surprised to see that his brother was neither grim nor sad. "I'm sorry you're here." 

Tarion looked over at him. "I didn't think I was that annoying." 

Jag smirked despite the situation. "You know what I meant." 

"Sure. I'm sorry I'm here, too." The brothers broke into shaky laughter. Tarion sobered up first. "You know, I think we're going to be the only people in history of this galaxy that laugh about their impending doom." 

"Well, I always wanted to go down in history for something, albeit I didn't really want it to be for the way I die, but you take what you can get." 

Tarion started laughing again, but had to stop to dive down as a thud bug blazed through the open speeder, narrowly missing their heads. The Yuuzhan Vong had stopped taking interest in opening the building, and had apparently decided to rid the galaxy of the Fel brothers. Another thud bug buzzed their speeder, but Jag was able to avoid it. 

Tarion pointed at a group of Vong by the back entrance. "Look, I think they're using us to train warriors!" 

Jag looked over, and saw a large Vong warrior give something to a slightly smaller one, and point over to their speeder, giving some instructions. "Great. Now we're target practice." 

"Well, that's good news," Tarion said. "At least, the new guy might not be as good a marksman as -- Whoa!" 

Tarion never got to finish his sentence as Jag tried to veer away unsuccessfully from the thud bug thrown by the apparent novice. The bug hit the speeder head on, already chewing through the metal on impact. Before they knew what was happening, Jag and Tarion were both thrown from the speeder as the bug chewed through the engine, damaging the equalizer systems. On the bright side, Jag noticed when he picked himself up off the ground, the thud bug wouldn't be causing them any immediate harm; it had been electrocuted by the engine. But that was small comfort, considering the six Vong warriors running up to the speeder to finish the job. 

* * *

Jaina opened up to the Force as soon as she left Kyp, giving it complete control over her actions. The Force surged through her, and she numbly realized at the back of her mind that it had been a long time since she had done that. _The last time I even remember falling in like this was in Lando's Folly, before this whole war ever started._ Ever since the war, she had been unable or unwilling to do so, always wanting to remain in some control over her actions. However, right now, it felt important to trust the Force. 

She walked into a deserted street, keeping her senses open to everything going on around her. The streets were filled with little houses, buildings, and alleyways, but no people could be seen. _Or felt. There's nothing alive left here._ Jaina could only hope that the people that occupied these houses had fled, not died. 

Jaina's danger sense flickered a second before a Vong warrior leaped out of one of the alleys and tried to take her head of with his amphistaff. With the advance warning, Jaina easily blocked the attack. The Vong screamed something in his own language as Jaina calmly parried another shot. She dropped down to one knee and swung her other leg out, swiping the Vong's legs out from under him. Jaina straightened and attempted to drive her lightsaber through the warriors throat, but he was able to roll out of the way. He quickly pushed himself up off the ground, and took a defensive stance a few meters away from Jaina. He shouted something in his own language again, but this time it wasn't directed at Jaina. Jaina quickly glanced around to see if the warrior had reinforcements, but saw nothing. 

She threw herself back in the fight again. 

* * *

One second ago, Jag was sure he was going to die very soon. Then, three things happened. One, Jag heard the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting. Two, an invisible force picked up Jag's speeder and threw it at the Vong warriors, pinning them roughly against the wall. Three, Kyp Durron's blurry shape emerged from out of nowhere to quickly dispatch of the now defenseless Vong. In one second, it was all over. 

Kyp shut down his violet blade. "Remind me again, Jag. How many times have I saved your life now?" 

"Just... put it on my tab," Jag said, picking himself up off the ground. He turned to help his brother up. "Tarion, this is Jedi Master Kyp Durron. Kyp, this is my brother." 

Kyp nodded at Tarion, before turning back to face Jag. "We have to go. I have a feeling your girlfriend is going to get herself in some trouble very soon." 

"Where is she?" 

Kyp closed his eyes, slowly spinning his head towards the south end of the town. "She'd over there," he said, pointing. "She had a feeling in the Force that she had to be there." 

Tarion and Jag exchanged glances. "That's the spaceport." 

"That's where the _Morning Glory_ is." 

* * *

Czulkang Lah didn't like the way this battle was unfolding. This species, these Chiss, were putting up a surprisingly good fight, and the addition of the infidels largest triangle ship wasn't helping the Vong situation. He briefly thought about the idea of simply destroying this planet as Ithor had been destroyed. That, however, would kill all life, and the Yuuzhan Vong would need slaves once they took this planet. He still had the upper hand in this fight. 

"Commander." Czulkang turned at the sound of his aide's voice. "A warrior on the ground is attempting to hail your villip. He wishes to speak with you." 

"Bring me my villip, then. I'll deal with it," Czulkang answered. _I hope, for the sake of this warrior, that what he has to tell me is of interest._

His aide returned with the appropriate villip, and he stroked it. The villip inverted, and showed a face Czulkang didn't recognize. "Commander." 

"This better be of importance," Czulkang said coldly. "A battle is no time for conversation." 

The warrior visibly stopped to collect himself. "Commander, a _Jeedai_ was spotted on the ground. My kinsman fought her, and assured me that it was Jaina Solo herself. I would have stayed to help with the fight, but I felt I would best serve the gods by bringing you this information." 

Czulkang listened intently. _Jaina Solo, here. This might prove to be very useful._ "You have done well. Now return to the fight, and may you bring glory to the gods." He stroked the villip, and signaled for his aide as it inverted. "Get me Foylebar Giil. Tell him it is time for his performance." 

* * *

Listening to the Force for directions, Jaina found herself at landing pad 35, standing before two giant doors. She stretched out with the Force, and she could feel the presence of three in individuals behind the wall of durasteel. She knocked on the doors with the hilt of her lightsaber. Nothing happened. 

Jaina ignited her blade, and walked over to the console, carefully slicing the covering off. Once the wires were exposed, she got to work, picking and pulling wires, trying to figure out which one opened the door. In a few minutes, she succeeded. She threw the wires back in the console and tried to make it look like it hadn't been tampered with. She smiled as she realized she wasn't succeeding. 

Clipping her lightsaber back to her belt, she walked onto the landing pad, and a ship of the same design as Lando Calrissian's _Lady Luck_ rested in the middle. She walked over to it, running a hand across the shiny hull. "_Morning Glory_," she murmured to herself. 

"Admiring the ship?" Jaina jumped slightly as the male voice rang out in the hangar. 

Jaina slowly turned around. She came face to face with a man about the same age as her father, perhaps a bit older. His blaster was pointed at her. "I'm not the enemy here." The man seemed vaguely familiar. 

"Oh, I know. Force of habit, I guess." The man tucked the blaster back in the holster. "Jaina Solo, I presume?" 

Jaina brought her head up. "I wasn't aware I was expected." A flicker in the Force told Jaina that danger was coming, and she quickly put herself between the man and the doors, using a Force-aided leap to propel her the needed distance. She had just pulled out her lightsaber when two Vong warriors ran into the landing pad, their amphistaffs raised above their heads in attack position. Jaina fell into the Force, and moved to intercept them. 

Jaina barely remembered the fight as she stepped over the two dead Vong warriors. _The Force is a powerful ally,_ she remembered the quote she had heard so much throughout her training. _I haven't fought like this in years. Of course, I haven't trained in years either. I've almost forgotten the true power of the Force._ She walked over to the man she had spoken to earlier. He was now joined by a women about the same age, tall and very pretty. And extremely familiar to Jaina. 

The man turned to her. "I've never been so glad my son was dating a Jedi Knight." 

Jaina blinked back her surprise, feeling foolish for not recognizing the family sooner. Jag had obviously inherited his features from both sides of his family, and Jaina had even seen countless holos with Syal Antilles and Baron Fel. She blushed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am." 

"Trust us, the pleasure is ours." Syal extended a hand to Jaina, and she shook it. "However, we hoped we would be meeting you under better circumstances." 

Jaina laughed politely. "Do you know where Jagged is right now?" 

Pain flashed across both their faces, and Jaina felt their fear and sadness hit her through the Force. Baron Fel began telling her a story, but she stopped paying attention. She immediately stretched out with her feelings to attempt to find Jag. To her relief, she found him safe at the moment, and felt Kyp nearby. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

"... he shut of the transmission. We haven't heard from him since." Baron Fel finished his story. "We are hoping they will show up soon." 

Jaina reassured them that Jag and his brother were safe at the moment, and on their way here. "How much room do you have on that ship?" She inquired, pointing at the _Morning Glory_. 

"Quite a bit. I believe we can fit at least one hundred in there, if we need to." 

"Good. We're going to need to round up refugees from around..." Jaina trailed off, a sudden wave of warning washing over her. She almost stumbled from the mental impact of the Force. She was unsure as to the actual message, but the meaning of it was clear; whatever Jaina had been sent here to do or accomplish, it was going to happen now. She held up a finger to silence the questions the Fels were asking her, and slowly walked outside the landing pad. There, in the middle of the deserted street stood a figure, shrouded in a hooded cloak. Jaina couldn't feel it in the Force. Assuming it was another Vong warrior, she pulled out her lightsaber again and began to walk over. 

Then, the figure pulled out his own weapon, igniting a blue lightsaber blade. He pulled off his hood, and Jaina saw her opponent. 

Jacen. And he was shielding in the Force. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Jaina must have stared into the face of her brother for hours, for time had lost all meaning to her. Jacen had been in Vong captivity for weeks, months even, yet he remained the same. He looked exactly as Jaina remembered him, but felt impossibly different. Try as hard as Jaina could, she could not reopen their twin bond; that part of her heart remained dark, as if Jacen was dead. 

_But he's not dead._

No. He was standing right in front of her. She could see him with her eyes, her brain, but he remained invisible to her senses. Jaina tried again to reach him through the Force; she tried to just feel him. Nothing worked. In the space Jacen should have stood, there was only emptiness. The Force had deserted her. 

_No. The Force did not desert me, or Jacen. Jacen only deserted it._

"Hey, Solo? What's going on over there?" Jaina recognized Baron Fel's voice, felt him in the Force, and did not turn around to know that he had followed her out of the hangar, only to stop at the doors once he saw the other Jedi. 

"Start gathering refugees. Pack as many in as you can," Jaina shouted back, turning around and nodding at Fel, giving him a look that she hoped he would understand; to finish his duties, and leave her to hers. 

When her eyes returned once again to rest on Jacen, he was smiling. Not the smile she had come to know through out her childhood and teenage years, but a smile of a warrior, ready for battle. 

He spoke first: "Dear sister. I didn't expect to find you here." His voice sounded the same and so completely different at the same time. 

"If you had opened yourself up to the Force, you would have," Jaina answered, not quite reproving of him. She didn't know how to feel. Her brother was alive, in the flesh, but dead to her, in the Force. Her mind was swirling with emotions she could not comprehend, and Jaina didn't even bother to calm herself down with Jedi techniques. She absentmindedly realized that she had almost fallen out of touch with the Force in the past few minutes, only touching it slightly to allow her to intercept warnings and other telepathic messages. 

"Ah, the Force," Jacen mused, almost as if talking to himself. He broke his gaze off Jaina, and looked towards the skies. He snorted and shook his head. "I no longer need the Force. I have become so much greater. So much, you could not even begin to imagine. But you will soon find the True Way, as I have. You will become what I have." 

Jaina nodded, not quite sure what to make of it. "Jacen, you have to come with me. We have to go back to Borleias. You just escaped from Vong captivity, you must have all kinds of information--" 

"Captivity? _Captivity?_ Jaina, the only time I was ever a captive was during my time here, among the infidels," Jacen spat out. "But I am above that. _We_ are above that." 

Jaina just stared at him. Her own brother, her own _twin_ brother, had just sprouted off Vong propaganda, their beliefs, and claimed them to be his own. He had been brainwashed during his captivity. He had become what Tahiri Veila almost because on Yavin 4. No, he wasn't turned in to a Yuuzhan Vong physically, but mentally, the transformation was complete. He had even shut himself down in the Force to be more like them! 

Jaina hated it. 

She almost hated her brother for succumbing to it. Her rage filled her, empowered her, but Jaina had to keep from letting it become her. That was the path of the Dark Side, and Jaina had seen far too many times where it would lead. 

Jacen was still alive, breathing. Which meant there was still hope. 

"You've built another lightsaber," Jaina pointed at his blue blade, as if to remind him that he was still a Jedi, that despite his renunciation of the Force, he had not severed all links to it. 

Jacen sneered. "This abomination? No, I didn't build this. Why waste the time, when there was so many available for me?" 

"From other fallen Jedi, I presume?" Jaina felt the anger rising again. His brother had just picked up a sacred weapon, built by some other being who put their life and existence into its creation, and converted it into nothing else but a weapon for him to kill with. 

Jacen nodded, smiling. "It's only a weapon, Jaina." 

"If it was only a weapon, Jacen, then you would have chosen an amphistaff. Certainly, _that's_ not an _abomination_," Jaina pointed out. "You are still a Jedi, Jacen. You don't simply forget about that. It doesn't just go away, no matter how much you close yourself off to the Force." 

"I told you, sister, the Force no longer has any meaning to me. I have surpassed all your Jedi games, became what I was destined to. What we were both destined to. You just have to accept the fact that you are better then these infidels," Jacen said, moving a step closer to Jaina. They now stood only a meter apart, their weapons held at guard, in case the other decided to press an attack. "Jaina, you have no idea what I've seen, what I've learned. You can't even begin to comprehend the things they showed me. The Truth." 

"They're your enemies, Jacen! Murderers, thieves and invaders! I can learn nothing from the Vong, nor would I ever want to!" 

"But you will Jaina. You don't have a choice. After I finish with my work here, you and I are going to have along talk on the way back to the worldship." 

"There's no chance I'm going with you. You'll have to kill me first," Jaina said determinedly, lowering her lightsaber and shutting it down. Jacen wouldn't kill her when she was defenseless. She was sure of it. 

"I can't kill you Jaina. Not just yet, anyway," Jacen responded. "We're not properly set up for a sacrifice of this magnitude." 

"Sacrifice?" Jaina was shocked. Jacen couldn't kill her now, but not because he was her brother, because he loved her, because he was a Jedi, but because he was saving her death for later, when he could properly sacrifice her to his new gods. "Jacen, you don't want to kill me. Or yourself. Please, you have to remember--" 

"Jaina, you misunderstand. I remember everything. They didn't erase my memory like Tahiri. They only showed me the Truth. How could I not join them after that?" Jacen asked, as if the answer was obvious, Jaina tried again in vain to send him her feelings through their Force. He remained invisible. "You will soon understand, Jaina. Everything will turn out for the best." 

"The best? The best for who, Jacen?" 

Jacen looked at her like she had grown another head. "The Gods, of course. And all those blessed by them." 

Jaina had no response. She was in too much shock to think of anything to say. Not a comeback, a plea, or an insult. Her mind came up with nothing. Her own brother was prepared to capture her and sacrifice her, along with himself, for some gods the Vong had made him believe in. This wasn't her brother; he just looked like him. 

She heard rather than sensed people coming to the docks, and saw a group of about ten people appear behind Jacen. They stopped to stare at Jacen's lightsaber. Apparently, the Chiss didn't have many visits from the Jedi, for they watched the lightsaber with fascination. 

A slow smile spread on Jacen's lips. "We'll have to finish this conversation later, sister. I do have a mission objective to finish." He turned and broke into a run towards the refugees, his lightsaber swinging in a circular motion as he ran. 

It took Jaina less than a nanosecond to Force-leap in front of him. She was confused and hurt, but she knew for sure that she would not let Jacen murder innocent people. The Force had guided her all the way to the Unknown Regions for Jacen's sake, and it would not be a good start towards his recovery to let him kill refugees. 

Jaina swung out her lightsaber, catching Jacen's in the middle of another circle, forcing him to either stop and face her, or drop the lightsaber. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to do much damage without a weapon, Jacen stopped in his tracks, and confronted Jaina. "You would rather kill your own brother to save strangers' lives?" 

"You're ready to kill me, Jacen. Why not return the favor?" Jaina countered, bringing her lightsaber around to attempt a slash at his stomach. Jacen parried, but not as smoothly as Jaina would have expected. _Then again, he's not fighting with the Force. I guess that part was left out in the Vong brainwashing manual._

With the Force, Jacen had been far better than Jaina in lightsaber combat, resulting from his long, exhausting bouts with Anakin, but without the Force, she had an edge over him. After a few minutes of battle, Jacen miscalculated an attack, and Jaina sent his lightsaber spinning some ten meters away. Without even thinking, only feeling with the Force, Jaina swung the lightsaber towards Jacen's head-- 

--And stopped ten centimeters away from his head. To her horror, the Force was guiding her to kill her brother. It had felt _so_ right. 

She lowered her weapon. "I can't do it. I can't kill my own brother." 

Jacen smiled triumphantly. He started to get to his feet. 

"Yeah, well, I can!" A violet blade swung towards Jacen, who threw himself on the ground to avoid being split in two. Kyp moved in front of Jaina, with his lightsaber pointing down high above his head, ready to finish Jacen off, when Jaina grabbed the back of Kyp's shirt, and pulled him away from Jacen. She stepped between the two men, and raised her lightsaber again, preparing to fight. She looked at Kyp defiantly. "Back off, Kyp." 

Kyp's mouth was hanging open, and through the Force, Jaina could sense his disbelief that she was about to stand up for Jacen. He was obviously at a loss of words, so he said the first thing that popped into his mind: "You selfish brat." 

Jaina was too stunned to say anything. 

"All you ever think about is yourself, Jaina." Kyp continued. "You came halfway across the galaxy to save your boyfriend, not even thinking of the billions of other people on this planet who needed your help. And now, you were ready to let Jacen go on a killing spree if it would let you have your brother back!" 

_That_ made her angry. "Where do you get off? You expect me to kill my own brother?" She smiled sweetly as inspiration struck. "That's more of a Kyp Durron type of thing to do." 

Jaina felt Kyp's outrage and sadness over her comment, but he had it under control in a flash. His voice was calm when he spoke. "You saw where the dark side can take you, Jaina. You don't want to go down that path again..." Kyp trailed off, his eyes looking behind Jaina. "Where did Jacen go?" 

Jaina spun around quickly, but Jacen wasn't lying on the ground anymore. His lightsaber was nowhere to be seen either. She spun to face Kyp again, and to her horror, spotted Jacen behind Kyp, his lightsaber ready to plunge into Kyp's heart. She screamed out a warning to Kyp, who spun around and slammed then end of his lightsaber into Jacen's nose, sending him reeling back. He dropped his lightsaber, and screamed in agony, his hands going up to his face. 

Only he wasn't grabbing his nose. Actually, once the ooglith masquer peeled away, there wasn't much of a nose left anyway. 

_This wasn't her brother; it just looked like him._

In retrospect, all the signs were there: he couldn't be felt in the Force, he acted like a Vong warrior, and fought like one too. Jaina felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Apparently, someone in Vong high command had apparently decided to play with a little psychological warfare himself. Only Jaina had been too preoccupied with having her brother back to pay attention to any of these signs. She even stopped paying attention to the Force when it was telling her Jacen was the enemy. The she remembered the vision she had aboard the Lusankya; the vision had clearly shown a Yuuzhan Vong imitating Jacen. Jaina had almost forgotten about it. The Force sent her a clear warning, she just stopped paying attention. 

Jaina sank to the ground. She couldn't fight any more. She felt like letting the Vong impostor kill her then and there. However, he never got the chance. In the confusion of taking off his ooglith masquer, the Vong warrior wasn't paying attention to Kyp, who took the opportunity to stab him right under his armpit, the known weakness in the Yuuzhan Vong armor. Once he was finished, Kyp walked over to Jaina, and sat beside her. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. 

Jaina broke the silence first. "Where's Jag?" 

"We met his father on the way, and they stopped to assist him with the refugees." Kyp's tone was neutral. If he thought her selfish again for asking about Jag first, he didn't let it show. 

Jaina nodded. "I couldn't let you kill him." 

Even with the sudden change of topic, Kyp understood what she was talking about. "I know." 

"I thought the Force sent me here to protect him. Save him. Bring him back to us." Jaina continued. "But that's not the case." 

"Which leaves only one question." Kyp looked directly into Jaina's eyes. "Why _did_ the Force guide you here?" 

* * *

Only a few days later, sitting in her quarters with Jag in comfortable silence, did Jaina come up with an answer. "I'm not ready." 

_Are you ready, Jaina?_ Anakin's voice rang back in her mind. 

Jaina, her head resting on Jag's abdomen, felt him prop himself up on his elbows to look at her. "For what?" 

For whatever it takes. 

"For this war." Jaina answered simply. "That's what the Force was trying to tell me." 

Jag didn't respond, waiting for her to elaborate. 

"Ever since this war began and I joined the military, I have been seriously neglecting my training. My Jedi training. I mean, I can't even remember the last time I trained with Mara!" 

"Jaina, it's not like you were sitting around at home, watching old holodramas." Jag replied. "You've been busy with the war effort." 

"That's the whole point. I've been too busy with Twin Suns, and this whole Goddess business. But I don't think that's the role I was supposed to play." 

Jag pondered this for a moment. "Are you saying you're going to resign your commission?" 

Jaina smiled sadly. "Once your uncle gets a hold of me, I don't think I'll have much of a commission left." 

Jag laughed softly. "Maybe. You'll have plenty of time to resume your training, in either case." 

"Funny how it all worked out like that." 

* * *

Wedge looked up from his datapad once Jaina Solo entered his office. She offered a sharp salute, and stood stiffly, staring at the wall. Wedge decided to let her stay in that position for a while. "Would you like to go first, or should I?" 

"Go ahead, sir." 

"Well, in that case, I don't know where to start. You disobeyed a direct order from me. Again. You put yours and Kyp's lives in danger, _again._ You put the whole Goddess plan in jeopardy to pursue a personal agenda,_again!_ If you can't follow orders when we're not even in battle, how can I rely on you to do what I want when lives depend on it?" Wedge practically shouted at her. "What do you have to say for yourself?" 

"Nothing, sir." 

"Good, because I have a solution to our problem. Jag or Kyp, I don't dare which one, is taking over Twin Suns. That's the first order of business. Second, you are devoting all your energies from now on to the Goddess project. Your father came up with a brilliant plan." 

Jaina frowned. "My father?" 

"Yes. Do you remember that Thrawn-clone crisis we had a few years ago?" Wedge grimaced when he realized that the crisis he was referring to occurred nine years ago. _And the first Thrawn crisis was ten years before that! I'm getting too old._ At Jaina's nod, he continued. "Do you remember a guy named Tierce?" 

"That guy Thrawn cloned and put a bit of himself in?" 

Wedge nodded. "That's right. He created a perfect propaganda tool that almost started a civil war. And he did it with a con artist, making everyone believe that Thrawn was back. Well, we are going to use Thrawn's intelligence against the Vong. 

"Whenever there is a battle, or we think there are Yuuzhan Vong spies present, or if I just want to be amused, your role will be to sit on the bridge and give orders that I relay to you." 

Jaina's expression didn't betray what she was feeling. "Yes, sir." 

"Do you have anything to add?" 

"No, sir." 

"Dismissed, then. We'll talk more about this later." Jaina saluted again, and quickly left Wedge's office, leaving him to wonder if this new plan was working out directly to Jaina's satisfaction. 

* * *

Jag was waiting for Jaina in her quarters when she came back from Wedge's office. "How did it go?" 

Jaina considered the question. "Could have been a lot worse, under the circumstances." 

"Well, what happened?" 

"Twin Suns is being handed over to you and Kyp, and I am to devote all my energies to this Goddess thing. They're going to have me pretending like I run the show, things like that." She sighed. "At least, with all my responsibilities gone, I'll have more time to devote to Jedi training." 

"With Kyp?" 

"With Kyp, or Mara, or Uncle Luke, or any Jedi Master who's in the area." Jaina smiled as she sat down beside Jag. "I have some catching up to do." 

Jag leaned in for a quick kiss. He let his lips linger there more than he had first intended to, but just found it difficult to pull away. 

Jaina pulled away, smiling slightly. "So, what were you up to today?" 

"Shawnkyr contacted me. She hooked up with another squadron, and she's staying with them for a little while. She was careful not to disclose her location, so I think they're up to something big, and didn't want to share it with whoever was listening in." Jag answered. "Then, I had lunch with my family, trying to talk Tarion out of joining the military. He wants to join Twin Suns, as it happens. Then I had to track down your mother, and talk to her on my sisters behalf." 

"My mother?" Jaina looked puzzled. 

"Yeah. Luna wants to go into politics, or something like that," Jag replied, grimacing at his sister's choice of career. "Your mother is taking her on as an aide, have her organizing refugees and stuff like that." 

"Sounds like a good learning experience." 

"Yes, that was what I was thinking too." 

"Great minds think alike, then." 

Jag smiled at Jaina's comment. "Yeah, it seems so." He kissed Jaina again. "So, what are your plans for later?" 

"A little weight training, then going for a run. Sparring with Kyp, if he has time." She smiled at Jag. "But that's not for another hour, or so. What are your plans?" 

"Suddenly, my next hour became free." He pulled Jaina to him for another kiss. 

The End 


End file.
